Strength of Brothers
by MagicallyInclined
Summary: Everyone knows how Harry Potter and Naruto Uzumaki grew up alone and unwanted. What if they had someone to talk to, learn from and depend on? What if they had each other?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I read a HP/Naruto story a while ago, and since then I'm officially a fan of the Naruto world. I know that no one likes reading stuff they already know, so hopefully my little introduction won't be too boring yet provide the essential information for those new to either HP or Naruto.

The story will follow canon for the most part at first – more-so for Naruto than for HP. Unlike all my other storied where I already know how it will end before I start writting, this one was just kind of a spur if the moment thing. So any suggestions you have I'll be willing to listen to.

For the purpose of simplicity, both worlds have the same calendar and time is the same. e.g. If it is 12:43 p.m. on March 3rd 1988 in Kanoha, it is 12:43 p.m. on March 3rd 1988 in Hogwarts.

I own neither Harry Potter nor Naruto.

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Most people can agree that there is some sort of supernatural power out there of which we have little to no understanding. Whether they believe it to be the hand of God, magic, the force, or something else, it has always played a major part in our lives and histories. The two alternate realities involved in this story each has knowledge of this power, and many from each world even have the ability to manipulate and use this power for their own purposes.

In the first world it is known as _magic_. Those (humans) with the ability to mould and use magic are known as witches and wizards. Those without the ability (so-called 'normal' people since they far outnumber magic-wielders) are referred to as muggles. A few centuries ago, wizards and witches created their own separate society devoid of muggles; they have their own government, medical centres and educational facilities. They even go so far as erasing the knowledge of magic from the minds of the muggles, making their little society a secret hidden one.

The second world calls the mysterious power _chakra_. Those with the ability to use it train and become shinobi (if they are male) and kunoichi (if female), otherwise known as ninja. Even though the majority of people with the ability to mould chakra train to become ninja, some don't and just live the same as regular people; though they do usually live longer and are generally faster and stronger than other regular people. Unlike the wizards and witches they don't completely separate themselves from everyone else; they became the world's military forces and allow themselves to be hired by regular people for their unique abilities to complete various jobs or assignments.

Another thing both worlds have in common is that neither one knows about the other. While it's true that those from both worlds have hypothesized that other universes exist, no attempts to cross over or to contact another world have ever been successful.

Until now.

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October 10th, 1981  
Department of Mysteries, London, England

"What do you think you're doing?"

The sudden question cut through the silent atmosphere between the only two people in the room. The man who asked the question looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, with mocha skin and dark chestnut hair that was almost black. By his tone it was obvious that he already knew the answer to his own question.

The blond-haired woman he was addressing continued working, giving no inclination that she'd even heard him.

"The chances of your experiment working are slim to none. Due to the complex natures of rituals, they only have a 76.4 success rate, and that's when all requirements such as rune placement, artifacts needed, what time of year is necessary and whatever other influencing factors are known. You're flying completely blind! You don't know any of those. You're working on a _theoretical _ritual, with _hypothetical_ factors, based on the _possibility_ that something we have no proof of exists!"

That caused the woman to pause in her work. But only for a moment before she steeled her resolve and determinedly ignored his presence once again.

Inesh Balan sighed before trying once again to get his subordinate to see reason.

"Diana, think about the baby. You're due in a few weeks and you need rest. Go home. The experiment can wait until you get back from your maternity leave."

Once again Diana Lovegood paused in her actions. Inesh took this as a good sign and hoped that one of his best unspeakables would give up for now, for the baby's sake at least. But once again she stubbornly picked up her equipment and continued drawing out runes.

"I'm sorry Inesh, but now is the best time to do it. My husband told me that magic levels were particularly high and agitated today. Those conditions would heighten the chance of success by a large amount."

Diana Lovegood's husband was well known to the magical public at large as someone who wasn't quite all there. He ran the magical equivalent of a muggle (non-magical) tabloid. His articles were always far-out and implausible for the majority of witches and wizards. But what most didn't know was that all his articles had a basis of truth. You see, Xenophilius Lovegood had a special ability. He could 'sense' magic. He could feel where magic pooled and concentrated, when magic flowed smoothly and steadily or jerkily and restlessly. But since he didn't know _why_ magic acted the way it did in certain areas/situations, he made up his own theories and printed them up as truth in his paper, 'The Quibbler'.

For example, when he and his wife were honeymooning in France and he noticed the fact that magic seemed to gather in a certain house nearby in the town, he assumed that some creatures (which he named asthurcs) were attracted to the yellow-green colour of the house and made their home in their basement, where the magic was most concentrated. And since the magic was more active and lively after a thunderstorm, obviously their mating season occurred only after violent thunderstorms.

In simpler terms, when Mr. Lovegood heard hooves, he thought of Pegasus' instead of horses.

Due to his rare ability (and the fact that no one would believe him anyway), Xenophilius was the only one outside of the department who had any idea about what happened within the department of mysteries. In fact, if Inesh had his way then Xenophilius would have already been an unspeakable. His ability coupled with his wife's amazing mind that could make sense of the most complicated problems (even if said mind understands things in such round-about ways and with such large leaps in logic that no one else could possibly hope to keep up) and Inesh could bet that most of the 'mysteries' they study would be explained and/or solved by the time those two retired. Unfortunately, Xenophilius loved his paper and would never willingly give it up.

"I seriously doubt that today will be the only day that the magic levels necessary for your experiment will occur. Don't make me suspend you and go home." The director of the Space Time Continuum Division tried to reason.

"Can't you see that I have to do it today! It could be years before the wild magic is at the right levels again and I can't wait that long. My baby is due soon and I need to know that I've done everything in my power to ensure she has a happy and peaceful life. You know that the Dark Lord is targeting Unspeakables to learn of and gain more power. And Xeno was always a target because of his paper. I need to do everything to ensure my baby will be safe."

Inesh knew that Diana would not cede on this matter. And if truth be told he was dying to see if her experiment worked as well. Manually he shut and bolted the door, ensuring that the experiment wouldn't be disturbed and that no other magic than that in the room would mix in with the ritual. "Tell me how I can be of assistance."

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October 10th  
Konoha

"Duck!"

Those lucky enough to react managed to avoid the falling concrete which used to belong to the apartment complex right beside them. Those who weren't fast enough added to mortality rate which has been exponentially increasing since Kyuubi, the nine-tailed demon fox, had first began attacking the hidden village.

No one knew why Kyuubi had began attacking, just that it's been a 24/7 massacre since then. The Hokage was quick to usher all civilians as far from the fight as possible at the first sign of the fox's approach and direct all those willing to fight against the nine-tailed demon.

Though the majority of the Kanoha shinobi were confronting the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Takahashi Clan was not. The reason was because they were busy doing a little known ritual. The Takahashi Clan was a fairly small clan, and were only known to be average ninja; generally they lacked in the physical energies and strength compared to others (and therefore had weak taijutsu skills) but excelled in spiritual energies and therefore were usually above average in genjutsu and ninjutsu. That is, if they trained hard enough (which they usually didn't). What the Takahashi Clan was really known for was their minds; they loved to read and debate about everything. Therefore those of the Takahashi Clan were known to be highly intelligent, open-minded and curious. It's been said that there has always been a Takahashi as one of the Hokage's advisors and as a member of the council since the founding of Konoha.

Because of their love of lore, they had many _legendary jutsus_ – not legendary because of their power or skill, but because it was all based on hypothetical work and legends and haven't ever been tested before. Currently, they were trying one such jutsu which, if worked properly, would contact another world.

The Takahashi's were a practical family. They knew realistically the village had next to no chance against the king of the biiju. Even with over 90 of the force of the most powerful hidden village they were lucky that they had managed to hold off the Kyuubi for the two and a half hours that they had. Therefore when news of the fox's approach reached them, they knew that they would be of more use using their brains than joining the fight. They knew that they would do no good against the Kyuubi, but hopefully another world could supply the power and/or resources necessary to stop the nine-tailed demon from completely destroying the village.

With those thoughts in mind the Takahashi's used every bit of their power to ensure that their summons succeeded.

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The nature of magic/chakra is a mystery, even to those blessed enough to wield it. Is it essentially good? Evil? Or is it just pure power that depends on the users intentions to categorize it as good or bad, light or dark?

The answer lies in all of the above. Within a person power is amoral, dependent on the user to give it shape whether to do good or bad. But in nature where magic/chakra pools to an unimaginable degree it develops a life of its own – literally. It gains its own personality and traits, creating an area where all that enter are given a sense of calm and contentment, or it can become a violent and wild storm. An example is the Hogwarts castle which developed a motherly but mischievous personality; always watching for the well-being of her occupants yet not above playing with them by switching around rooms and stairs.

It was the wild powerful magic/chakra that responded to Diana Lovegood's ritual and the Takahashi Clan's jutsu. Both powers, for whatever reason, decided to help the rituals along. They created a link between the worlds, which would only be temporary. To ensure that the link would last for much longer, one person from each world would be chosen to maintain the link. Now they just had to find candidates.

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"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama! We are losing many men and we won't last much longer. Already the demon has demolished the south-east quadrant of the village! We need you!"

Minato Namikaze, the Village of the Hidden Leaves fourth Hokage, looked to the ANBU member currently speaking to him. He knew that the fellow ninja spoke the truth; there was no way that they could really hope to beat the demon intent on destroying their home. But that wouldn't stop the Kanoha shinobi from trying. He knew that he should've already been on the battlefield, but he had very good reasons for not being there yet. First off, due to the stress on Kyuubi's attack his wife had gone into labour prematurely. Though his baby boy survived the encounter with no health issues (besides being a little underweight), his precious Kushina died. And though Minato would love to fight the one responsible for bringing about his wife's death, without a feasible plan to defeat the demon he could not avenge his wife. With Kushina already dead the least he could for his son was ensure the demon was defeated so he could live.

Looking back to his precious newborn son, the Yondaime responded to the ANBU. "I finally have a plan. Please find the Sandaime and bring him to me as quickly as possible."

With a quick bow the ANBU left with all haste, hope blossoming into his heart with the knowledge that his leader had a plan to defeat the Kyuubi.

Minato mentally went over his plan one more time. He had been working on a seal that would send an enemy to the land of the dead (but at the cost of his own life as well) just in case he found himself in an impossible-to-win situation . He had still been trying to fine-tune it so he wouldn't have to sacrifice himself as well, when news of the Kyuubi's approach reached him. Since then he'd been working tirelessly to adapt his newest jutsu to work for a demon. He had finally worked out the specifics but was still hesitant to go through with it even though he knew he had no other choice.

And up above the wild chakra watched and chose the one who would be bound with the other world.

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"The one with the power to defeat the dark lord approaches...born to those that have thrice defied him...born as the seventh month dies..."

The Dark Lord Voldemort was once again musing on the first half of the prophecy which had been spoken almost two years ago. He had already determined that there were only two possibilities for who the prophecy spoke of; either Neville Longbottom or Harry Potter. But which one?

Neville Longbottom was the only son of the Auror Frank Longbottom and the Healer Alice Longbottom. Both parents were well known as competent and gifted within their personal fields and are both from powerful pureblood families and are close to Dumbledore. Frank had been Head Boy and Alice had been a prefect and one of the top of her class.

On the other hand there was Harry Potter, only son of Auror James Potter and newly-instated Charms Mistress Lily Potter. Though James was not as well known within the Auror community as Frank, he was also a newer recruit and still showed great potential. He was also good enough at transfiguration to apply for a mastery and if his last encounter with the messy-haired auror was anything to go by, Voldemort strongly suspected the Potter heir of being an illegal stag animagus. And he's also from a powerful pureblood family. Lily Potter, even though she is a muggle-born, is arguably the most powerful of the four parents and one of the youngest ever to achieve a mastery in charms. It was also reputed that the Department of Mysteries is interested in hiring her. James had been a Head Boy and Lily had been a Head Girl.

So which to go after? The pureblood or the half-blood? The one born July 30th or July 31st? Longbottom or Potter?

Almost as if it were a sign from above, the answer came to him through the great wooden doors.

Voldemort watched as Avery and McNair made their way to his throne dragging a trembling bound man behind them. When they reached him, they sank to their knees and awaited the dark lord's recognition.

"Why are you not with the others eliminating the McKinnons as I had commanded you? I should hope the answer is to my liking or you shall deeply regret it."

"M-my Lord, the McKinnons were subdued when we left. Rosier commanded that we bring you this blood-traitor which we had found in the area. We believe that he is one of the member's of Dumbledore's Order."

Voldemort didn't recognize the snivelling man before him, but he might as well make a quick scan of the man's mind before killing him. What the Dark Lord found was most encouraging; not only was this man a part of the Order, he was good friends with the Potter's and was more than willing to do sell them out with the rest of the Light to save himself. Voldemort felt a cruel smile blossom on his face.

"Tell me Peter, why should I spare an enemy of Lord Voldemort? What are you willing to do to stay alive?"

From above magic watched as Peter Pettigrew revealed all he knew – including the location of the Potters' lastest safe house – to the Dark Lord. It looked like the other candidate was found.

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Minato studied his son curiously. Only a few moments ago he had felt a huge surge of chakra centered on his baby boy, but no matter how hard he tried to sense it, he could not find anything that was amiss. His contemplations were interrupted by his predecessor.

"You asked to see me Minato?"

"Yes. As you know I had just completed the Shiki Fujin jutsu. I altered it a bit and I think I'll be able to use it to stop the Kyuubi. Unfortunately the consequences for using it are quite dire, and I want to make sure someone knows my last wishes."

"You have my word, not only as a citizen of Kanoha honouring the last requests of its Hokage, but as a friend who deeply respects you."

The Yondaime let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "The original version of the Shiki Fujin jutsu is not strong enough to take demon with me from the mortal realm. So I had to improvise. In exchange for my life, the Kyuubi will be sealed away. In my son."

The Sandaime looked at his successor in shock. "You can't be serious! That is too big a burden for a baby! Surely something else can be used! I had heard that Suna had trapped the one-tailed demon within a statue!"

"Yes, but that was just the one-tailed demon and it was in a specialized chakra infused statue that was made for the sole purpose of holding a demon. We are dealing with the nine-tailed, the king of the biiju. Unfortunately nothing inanimate will be able to hold the Kyuubi, and if it were sealed within anything besides a newborn their chakra pools and coils could never hope to adapt to the poisonous chakra of a demon. My son is the only one in the village who is but a few hours old and therefore is the only one who has a chakra system that can hope to cope with the Kyuubi. "

"But even if the boy is the only one with a chakra system that isn't completely formed, there is only so much the chakra pools and coils can be stretched. If he doesn't have the potential for a very large chakra system of his own, he will be overwhelmed by the Kyuubi and die even before the sealing was complete!"

The Yondaime forcefully pushed away the knowledge that his son might not survive the sealing. Even though he knew the Sandaime spoke the truth, there wasn't anything he could do about it. There were no other options; even though there were plenty of babies due to the sudden peace after the Iwa war, all of them were at least a month old; too old for the sealing. And they couldn't wait until one of the pregnant mother's gave birth since the village would be destroyed by then. Even if there was another newborn baby Minato doubted it would have the same chakra potential as his son. As much as he hated to do it, it was either he go through with the sealing making his son into a jururichin and an orphan or he let his baby die with the rest of the village fighting fruitlessly against the demon.

"Minato, at least let me take your place. I'm an old man and my children are fully grown. Konoha still needs you as its Hokage and Naruto needs you as his father, especially if he will be the Kyuubi's jailor. I will seal the demon."

Minato looked sorely tempted. "This seal isn't as easy as the original version I had already showed you; this is for sealing a demon not killing a ninja. I will show you how to do it and tell me if you can succeed."

Sarutobi looked over Minato's hurriedly scrawled notes and listened to his instructions. Unfortunately the Yondaime was right; his alterations of the Shiki Fujin jutsu made it far more difficult. While the Sandaime was fairly confident he could perform the original version, he didn't think he had the skill to perform the second. He didn't have quite the same chakra capacity as his successor nor was he a seals master. When they both realized that Minato would have to perform the sealing after all, the Yondaime gave his last instructions.

"Before I go, promise me you will watch over my son. His mother died giving birth to him and I will die stopping the Kyuubi. I want to know at least one person will take care of him. On my command I ask that you remain here for the rest of the battle; Kanoha will need you to resume the post as Hokage after my death. I also ask that you let the village know that my dying request is for Naruto to be seen as the hero that he is, not as the demon he contains. Please, I ask you from one father to another, take care of my baby."

Sarutobi could only solemnly nod and swear to do as the Yondaime asked. Determinedly Minato summoned the giant toad Gamabunta and took his son to confront the demon.

* * *

A/N: I know not much happened, but really the whole point of this chapter was to make a reason why Naruto and Harry would be linked. I also took the opportunity to explain how I thought things went in both world's (like why Dumbledore wasn't the secret keeper or why the Third didn't seal the Kyuubi for Minato). Next chapter will have the death of the Potter's and maybe a little bit of Naruto/Harry bonding.

As for pairings; right now I don't have any plans. I know that Harry and Naruto will have a brotherly bond, but beyond that nothing is planned. I'll take suggestions but keep in mind if I do add romance, it won't come up for a while.

Also, I don't know Japanese. Therefore I won't use a lot of the sayings or suffixes, only some. And I'm sorry if the few that I use are wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I still don't own Naruto or Harry Potter.

* * *

**October 26th, 1981**

"We just don't know what to do anymore! No matter where we go, how we hide, the Dark Lord is only half a step behind us! What do we do!" a distressed James Potter ranted at his former headmaster and undisputed leader of the Light, Albus Dumbledore.

Albus looked at his former students and their one year old baby over his half-moon spectacles deep in thought. "There is only one explanation as to how Voldemort seems to catch up with you so easily – we have a spy in the Order. I had been suspecting it due to the high number of failures any recent missions have been met with. Unfortunately, the fact that the Dark Lord is only able to keep up with you and not the Longbottoms suggests that it is one of your close friends who is indeed the traitor. I'm afraid that it is best that you tell no one where you are going next. It is too dangerous otherwise."

"You can't be serious! There's no way any of the Marauders would turn traitor! You're off your rocker!"

James' angry rant succeeded in waking up Harry who gave out a wail letting the room's occupants know his displeasure at being woken up. Lily was quick to calm both her son and her husband.

"Now James, we can't ignore the facts. We have moved no less than 4 times in the past 2 weeks. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that one of our friends is a traitor – what if they're under the imperious curse or had their minds read by someone at work without their knowledge or consent? Either way Dumbledore has a point – we can't trust your friends like we used to and we need to find a way to keep Voldemort away from Harry."

Seeing that Lily had successfully calmed her husband Albus decided it was safe to re-enter the conversation. "If I may? There is one spell which will not only hide you, but it is impossible to hoodwink your location through spells and potions. The location must be willingly given by the secret keeper."

"Of course, the Fidelis Charm! That would be perfect!"

James looked back and forth between Lily and Albus. "Umm...the what charm?"

"The Fidelis Charm," his wife replied, "it hides a location within a person's being so that no one can find it until it is revealed by the secret keeper. The only problem is that is only works on a stationary location; so to remain hidden we'd have to stay there 24/7. Once we step outside the boundaries of the spell we're fair game. Also, the secret keeper can't live in the location they're hiding – it deteriorates the spell. At most the secret keeper could visit the location 24 hours for every month but it is preferable if the secret keeps a 50 km distance at all times from the location."

"If you would like, I am willing to be your secret keeper. Then all your friends may be told the secret to visit you, but unable to reveal your location willingly or not."

Lily and James shared a look. As tempted as they were by the offer, they knew they couldn't take it. As much as Albus portrayed himself as the undefeatable leader of the Light, those who took the time to notice were able to tell that the combined efforts of being the headmaster of Hogwarts, leading the Order of the Pheonix, being Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the International Wizards Confederation and unofficial leader of the light was tiring 100 year old man out. The added stress of being the secret keeper and maintaining the charm would be too much to ask for. No, the Potters could not take up Dumbledore's offer in good conscience.

"Thank you for the offer Albus," Lily declined, "but we'll just use one of our friends that we are 100 percent certain are loyal. This way we won't have to wait until you're available to perform the spell."

Though Dumbledore saw through their weak excuse, he let them go with no more than another offer of lemon drops. He could only hope that he was wrong about there being a traitor and things would work out for the young family.

* * *

The members of the council of Konoha liked to pride themselves on the fact that they are generally powerful, smart and authoritative people. However at this point in time they didn't seem like it, as the Sandaime could attest to. Currently the members of the council were yelling incoherently and gave the impression of toddlers in the middle of a tantrum than the stoic, dignified men they usually portray themselves as. 

"The demon should be killed!"

" – all my land, destroyed! I demand – "

" – monster! The Fourth gave his life and how do you respect his demise? By protecting his murderer – "

It was the last yelled comment that caused the Third Hokage to put an end to the council's never-ending protests.

"Enough! I have heard enough of your opinions about something you know nothing about! Perhaps if you'd take the time to let me explain, then you'd realize what I'm doing is for the best."

Though everyone knew that the Sandaime was wise and powerful (he was a Hokage after all), the monkey-summoner was generally fairly passive (especially since his retirement), making many forget just how powerful he really was. But it now became obvious that despite his years of relaxation, the Third was no pushover and was going to perform the duties of the Hokage with his all once again.

"You all dare to come in here, demanding for retribution and vengeance against an innocent babe! If you are all well and able enough to plot assassination attempts on an infant then you should be helping Konoha and do more important things; healing the wounded, building houses, burying the dead!"

Those in the crowded office at least had the decency to be slightly ashamed of themselves for thinking of their own anger instead of the needs of others, but it did not reduce their need for vengeance against the one they blamed for the massacre.

Sarutobi had hoped that no one would find out about Naruto's role in the Kyuubi's defeat; just pass him off as one of the numerous victims who had lost all his family. Unfortunately there were too many witnesses (and among those witnesses a few high ranking shinobi who were able to understand what the seal on Naruto's stomach meant) to do so. Word spread of the baby who contained the nine-tailed fox before the Third had a chance to stop it.

"Now let me explain a few things to you all. The Fourth was a Seals Master; he knew what he was doing. The child is the Kyuubi's jailor, not the Kyuubi himself. Uzumaki Naruto is no more a demon than you or me. If anything, Naruto is a hero. He is just as responsible, if not more so, than the Yondaime for the defeat of the nine-tailed fox. It was the Yondaime's last wish that the child be treated with the dignity and respect which he deserves! How dare you come in pretending that you kill the child in the name of the Fourth when his dying wish was for the child to be cherished and loved!"

The Sandaime's words were able to silence the protestors, but the Third knew that their anger and need for vengeance was not sated. Unfortunately there was only so much he could do, even as the Hokage. Any special treatment would be seen as favouritism, or heaven forbid, as the demon manipulating him.

Sarutobi briefly considered telling the villager's that Naruto was the Yondaime's son. That way they would have more respect for the child, being the only son of their hero and feel more obligated to honour the Fourth's wishes. But there were downsides as well; as the Yellow Flash of Konoha, Minato had gained a fair number of enemies who would go after his son. And what if the villagers didn't believe him, thinking it was just a ploy to protect the child? Or even worse, believe that he _was_ Minato's son who was overtaken by the Kyuubi? Then they'd be even angrier at the child, believing the demon had killed their hero's only son and probably help any of Minato's enemies kill the baby, if they didn't do it themselves.

What could he do to keep his promise to Minato without causing a riot? How could the villagers hate one so young who wouldn't even know or understand the negative thoughts and emotions directed at him?

"As of now Uzumaki Naruto is under my protection. I expect him to be treated with the same respect and fairness you show to every other member of Konoha. Any action taken against the child will be met with three times the punishment. No mention of the demon he contains is to ever be mentioned, on penalty of death. As far as the younger generation is concerned, the Fourth killed the Kyuubi and Naruto is an ordinary boy."

Seeing as how the Sandaime would not budge on the matter, the Hokage's office gradually emptied. Sarutobi only hoped that his new law would ensure that Naruto not be prejudiced against his own generation, since it appeared that it was too late for everyone else.

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**October 30th, 1981**

One year old Harry Potter yawned cutely as he woke up from his nap. Lately he'd been having odd dreams, even though the baby himself didn't realize that his dreams were unusual.

When he falls asleep, he often finds himself in the presence of another baby. But the other baby was younger and smaller than he was, which was something of a curiosity to Harry, since he had never seen another baby before. The other baby couldn't even crawl, let alone walk (albeit Harry could only take a few wobbly steps).

That was okay with Harry though; he liked the other baby and would often cuddle with him since he was both warmer and comfier than Hoggy, his stuffed dragon. The other baby probably liked him too, since he rarely cried and smiled whenever he got hold of Harry's hair or fingers.

But now that he was awake all thoughts of other baby were pushed to the back his mind, too occupied by thoughts of food, where his parents were and what that fun looking shiny thing on the shelf was.

First things first though. He needed to escape his crib. "Mommy!"

A few moments later Lily Potter entered the nursery to fetch her son. "Hello sweetie. Did you have a nice nap? I bet you're hungry. And after you eat you can play with your silly godfather who should be here any minute now. But first, let's change your diaper."

Harry didn't really understand what his mother was saying, but he loved being picked up and showed his appreciation by giggling and clapping.

After being changed and fed, Lily brought her son to the living room. When Harry saw who was there, he started squealing. Paddy was always so much fun! Lily however was distracted by the unexpected third man in the room.

"Oh! Hello Peter. I didn't know you were coming over today, or I would have made more lunch."

Today was going to be the day they performed the Fidelis Charm. They had already discussed with Sirius, James' best friend and Harry's godfather, and he had agreed to be their secret keeper. Lily didn't want to be rude, but she hoped Peter would leave soon; she wanted the spell over and done with so she could sleep at night knowing her baby was safe. Peter's presence was making her confused and uncertain.

"Actually Lils, I invited him. I know we had originally agreed that I be the secret keeper, but I thought this way you would be safer."

Lily looked to her husband to see if he had any idea what Sirius was talking about.

"Padfoot thinks that he's too obvious a choice as secret keeper. He suggested switching to Wormtail." James' voice and expression showed just how reluctant he was of the suggestion.

Seeing how neither Potter was taken by the suggestion, Sirius defended his idea. "Think about it; everyone knows that I'd be your first choice. Peter would be the last person they'd suspect as the secret keeper! While he goes into hiding to keep you guys safe, I could lead Voldemort and his merry band of death eaters on a wild goose chase. And this way I can visit lil' Prongslet as much as I like without straining the wards!"

Peter was feeling more and more upset the longer the conversation went on. When Sirius had first approached him asking him to be Lily's and James' secret keeper he had felt honoured (and guilty) that his friends would trust him so much. Sirius had told him the reason for the switch was to find out who the traitor in the Order was as they'd obviously go after Sirius (Harry's godfather and James' best man) for the Potter's location. (That had made Peter feel both nervous at the fact that they knew there was a spy and proud that he had fooled everybody, including the great Albus Dumbledore, since obviously no one suspected him if he was to be the secret keeper).

But now he finds out that not only did James and Lily not know about the switch, they didn't like the idea of him being their secret keeper. And the reasons Sirius was now listing are slightly different than the reasons he gave to Peter. When Sirius told him the reasons for the switch, it sounded like it was because he was trustworthy and dependable. Now it sounded like Peter was only chosen because he was thought to be too weak for the enemy to consider himr and so Sirius could spend more time with the Potters.

He might not have gotten the highest scores at school, but that didn't mean he was weak or stupid! And why wouldn't Lily and James at least consider the idea before rejecting it? Did they think so little of his loyalty! (Never mind the fact that he was already a spy...). And why should it matter that Sirius wouldn't be able to visit as often as opposed to him? Shouldn't he have just as much right visiting his friends and little Harry?

"I don't know Paddy...it'd be awfully dangerous leading around a bunch of death eaters by their noses. I don't want to see you get hurt."

'Geez, thanks for worrying about my safety James. I mean it's not like I'm the one who's going to suffer the stress of the spell and be responsible for your family's well-being or anything.' Peter thought sarcastically.

Peter may be a bit of a coward, willing to do just about anything to ensure his own survival, but that didn't mean he was all bad. If there was any way to leave Voldemort (and remain amongst the living) he would do it in a heartbeat. He agreed with neither Voldemort's ideals nor his methods. And Peter was still loyal to his friends whom he had shared the best times of his life with. He only gave the dark lord information when his life was on the line (which was almost always) and even then tried to limit it to information that wouldn't put his friends in harm's way. And any time he was forced to reveal the Potter's location, he'd try to make sure they got out alright. But the longer Sirius tried to convince the Potters to switch secret keepers, the more Peter was feeling underappreciated, angry and bitter.

"If you're sure..."

"Of course I am. Trust me, this will work." Sirius assured.

Sirius was excited. They were going to do it! As much as Sirius would have liked to be the secret keeper to ensure the Potters' safety, he felt that this plan was better. When James told him of a possible spy in their group, he had been adamant that there was some sort of mistake. A marauder turn traitor? Never! But James had wanted to perform the Fidelis charm regardless.

Later, when the idea of a traitor had time to take root, Sirius began thinking on who it could be. Obviously it wasn't James, or he wouldn't have married a muggle-born and little Harry would be dead. That only left Peter and Remus.

Peter was a pureblood, but only a third generation one. His grandparents (except one) were muggle-born and his mother had been a half-blood. He didn't possess the influence or power that the Dark Lord prefers when it comes to his followers. The only reason the Dark Lord would tolerate him would because of he had friends in high places and the fact that he was an animagus (which the Dark Lord didn't know since he wasn't registered). He'd be no more than a lackey. In contrast, on the Light side Peter had good friends, morals he could agree with, and an adorable pseudo nephew who may or may not have the power to end the war. He'd have nothing to gain and everything to lose by joining Voldemort.

Remus was a half-blood and a werewolf. While most of those on the Dark Lord's side would consider Remus to be a mere insect, in an effort to increase his numbers Voldemort has been appealing to magical creatures (including werewolves) who have been discriminated against and subjugated; promising equal rights and freedoms as every other wizard. If the Dark Lord actually kept his promise Remus would have much more to gain by joining Voldemort.

But even though there was proof of a spy and all signs pointed to Remus, Sirius couldn't help but hope that there had been some sort of mistake. With this plan he'd know for sure – he'll purposely allow Remus to make his move with the false knowledge that Sirius was the secret keeper. He needed to know for sure where Remus' loyalties lay.

"Then it's decided, Peter will be the secret keeper."

* * *

**November 1st, 1981**

Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Head of Gryffindor House and professor of transfiguration sat patiently on the stone wall in front of 4 Privet Dr. It has been a long, eventful day and she would like nothing better than to go back to her quarters and sleep until late afternoon tomorrow, but she was determined to see her plan through.

It had started early in the morning – or late last night – when Dumbledore firecalled her to tell her that he had to deal with an emergency situation and that she was in charge until his return. Even though it was had become common for Minerva to take care of the Headmaster's duties since the war begun, it didn't change the fact that she was always left worried and nervous for whatever had called Dumbledore away from Hogwarts this time.

It wasn't until hours later that the news of the Dark Lord's defeat reached her. Classes were cancelled and a nation-wide celebration took place. Owls flew everywhere and people were dancing in the streets. Thankfully Minerva wasn't the type to get carried away by the hype as others were. As much as she wished she could believe as easily as others that the dark lord was indeed gone, she needed to know for certain.

Which brings us back what Minerva was doing sitting on the stone wall in front of a muggle house in her tabby-cat animagus form. According to the rumours, during the night of October 31st, the Dark Lord attacked the Potters; killing Lily and James. But then the story becomes unbelievable. They say that the Voldemort tried to kill little Harry, but the killing curse (which, as the name implies, kills what it hits) didn't work. It hit Harry, and it had more than enough power to take the child's life, but for whatever reason it rebounded and killed the Dark Lord instead. She had overheard Hagrid talking about how Harry would be left with his aunt, which is why the transfiguration professor was on the cold wall waiting for Dumbledore to bring the baby back from St. Mungo's where he had been looked over to determine if there were any adverse side-affects from surviving the killing curse.

Finally, after long hours of waiting, the headmaster arrived.

The eccentrically dressed man strode down the dark and deserted street chuckling softly at the sight of the stiffly sitting cat. "Minerva, I should have expected you to be here. I do hope that you weren't here all day and took part in some of the festivities."

Minerva changed back into her human form and glared at the idea that she would be off partying with the rest of the masses; getting drunk and dancing around was hardly her style. Not to mention that she spent her whole day out here on this wall and she would not be deterred from finding out what she wanted to know.

"I heard the Dark Lord attacked the Potters last night. I heard that Lily and James...that they were killed."

Dumbledore's bowed head was all the answer she needed. They were dead. Minerva spared a moment in respect and to gather her thoughts. Though she hadn't been particularly close with the Potters Lily and James had been among her favourite students and she had gotten to see them every now and then at Order meetings.

"That's not all," Minerva continued, "I heard that the Dark Lord also tried to kill their son Harry. But for whatever reason he wasn't able to and Harry survived with nothing more than a scar on his head."

Once again the headmaster confirmed it as truth.

"B-but how?! It shouldn't be possible! After the hundreds who have died by that curse, someone survives? And the Dark Lord somehow defeated by a baby! How was it possible?"

"I don't know for certain. Indeed we may never know for sure how it was possible. But it has happened."

Their conversation was interrupted by the approaching sound of a motor.

In the sky was a descending motorcycle, with a giant of a man holding something close to his chest. He gently touched down and dismounted, obviously trying not to jostle the bundle in his arms.

Minerva and Albus walked over to get a better look at the sleeping baby.

"Is that where...?" Minerva asked indicating to the lightning shaped scar on the child's forehead.

"Yes, that is scar left by the killing curse." After a moment of everyone just staring at the baby lost in their thoughts, Albus broke the silence. "Well, there's no need for us to be here any longer. Pass him to me Hagrid and I'll leave him by the door."

Minerva looked up; she had almost forgotten that the headmaster had planned to leave Harry here.

"No Albus! You can't leave him here! I was watching these people all day and they're the worst sort of parents; why I saw their son kicking and screaming all up and down the streets for candy and the mother just gave in to the child's every whim! And when the boy started bullying another child, the mother did nothing to stop it! He'll become spoiled and insufferable!"²

"And if he grew up in the wizarding world it would be ten times worse. This is the safest place for him to grow up with a chance at a normal childhood. Don't worry, I have an old friend of mine who will be moving here soon to look after little Harry as he grows and make sure he had a level head."

Minerva sighed and bowed her head in agreement. With the fuss everyone was making about the 'boy-who-lived' there was no way for Harry to grow up as he should in the wizarding world. She only hoped that Harry would turn out okay.

After depositing the baby on the doorstep with a letter to explain the situation (and making some wards to make sure Harry would be safe), the three adults took their leave, not seeing Harry again for another decade.

Posted February 2, 2008

* * *

A/N: I know the conversation between McGonagall and Dumbledore didn't quite go like that, but I can't find the book. Also I wanted to take out "the worst sort of muggles" line since she wouldn't really know that, having never seen how the Dursley's react to magic. Any other time Minerva would have seen/met Petunia would have been in the presence on her parents and therefore she would have been more reserved and polite. And any animosity between Lily and Petunia could have been taken as sibling rivalry, especially since Lily was the favorite. 

Therefore Minerva doesn't want Harry to grow up there because she's afraid he'll turn out like Dudley - mean and spoiled. If they knew that Harry would be forced to sleep in a cupboard and was denied food then they wouldn't have left him there (not that the way they raise Dudley isn't really child abuse in its own way).

Next chapter: time skip by 5 years.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Still don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. Thanks to all those that reviewed.

* * *

Five-year old Uzumaki Naruto sat just outside the Hokage's office, swinging his legs back and forth on a too-big-for-him chair. His hair was slightly damp from a recent bath, his clothes were brand new and his stomach was full. That was a big change from the dirty ragged and hungry state he had been in for the past week and a half when he had been living on his own in the streets. 

He was waiting for the Third Hokage to finish his 'meeting' with Itou Akiko, the matron of the village's orphanage, to find out what was going to happen to him and if he'd go back to the orphanage.

It was inevitable that Naruto get kicked out of the orphanage eventually. When Sarutobi had first reluctantly placed him there (if only he'd been able to raise Naruto himself; but unfortunately he didn't have the time and the village would riot) the workers and volunteers were obvious in their disdain for the baby. It was only the ever watchful eyes of the ANBU stationed to look after Naruto that ensured that the baby was safe and given what he needed. Anyone caught trying to abuse the baby – whether it be physically or just neglecting his basic needs – were dealt with quickly and severely.

Workers and volunteers dropped like flies before they got smart enough to provide for Naruto. Unfortunately that didn't stop them from finding other ways to make the child miserable. They ignored him; even when handing out food they'd drop the plate in front of Naruto and scurry off as if the devil were after them. They also discouraged the other children from playing or talking with him. And when they thought nobody was listening they'd murmur about how he was a demon and a monster. It made Naruto feel like he wasn't really there, and that no one cared.

But even though the workers didn't like him they were too afraid of the Sandaime's wrath to kick him out. At least until he was older when they could claim that Naruto was self-sufficient or when a needier child came in so they could say they didn't have enough resources.

So what brought upon the earlier than planned boot from the orphanage you ask? Well, I guess it begins with Naruto's dreams.

Ever since he could remember, when Naruto dreamed he always found himself in the presence of a black-haired green-eyed boy. The boy was about a year older than he was and his name was Potter Harry – or Harry Potter as Harry said you say your name where he is from. And that was the root of the problem. The two boys came from very different places.

At first the culture difference didn't matter –they were only babies after all and they just played and slept together. As they got older they started talking to each other – ignorant of the fact that they didn't speak the same language. And since Harry and Naruto both learned languages the way every other baby does – listening to others speak and then mimicking – they were unknowingly learning two languages instead of one (they would hear their native language while awake and pick up the other's language while asleep). This caused them to speak in a sort of mix between English and Japanese (not that anyone realized this since no one really talked to either child). When Harry started going to school, he realized that nobody knew many of the words he knew. After he told Naruto (who then started eavesdropping on the adult's conversations), he realized the same thing except the adults in Konoha only used the words that the adults in Harry's world didn't use.

It wasn't long before Harry's teacher set up a meeting with the Dursley's to talk about Harry's apparent language problems and how to resolve it. Needless to say that Harry got in trouble with his aunt and uncle for being a freak and making up a freaky language. After that incident both Harry and Naruto tried not to use any words that they hadn't heard an adult around them say. Unfortunately a week and a half ago Naruto used a few words from Harry's world accidently when he was playing with this really hyper kid with bushy-eyebrows named Lee (one of the only kids in the orphanage who will play and talk with him). Even though this wasn't the first time Naruto had slipped, it was the first time he was caught by an adult. The matron spared no time to kick him out of the orphanage, screaming about possesed demon spawns speaking in tongues and the corruption of other children.

It was a tough time for Naruto; almost everybody was mean to him and he got very little to eat (though after getting caught pilfering through a dumpster one day, this old man gave him a bowl of ramen for free, and another free bowl every day since. Yum!)

Then today while he was napping in a small alley, the Hokage (who was taking a stroll to escape from his never-ending paper-work) had found him. When the old man found out that he was living in the streets after being kicked out of the orphanage Naruto was promptly whisked away, given food, a bath and new clothes to wear. Which brings us back to outside the Hokage's office.

Just then the door opened and the orphanage matron came storming out, only pausing long enough to shoot a nasty glare at the five-year old. Naruto was then directed inside. Upon seeing him, Sarutobi smoothed out his face from the angry frown it was in when talking to Akiko into a genial smile.

"Well Naruto, it seems that we have a small problem. The orphanage is full and you can hardly live in the streets for your whole life! For now you can live with my son and his family until we find a more permanent living arrangement."

Naruto just sat in silence. There were quite a few empty beds at the orphanage when he was there, so he didn't see why the Sandaime said the place was full. Unless they got a lot of new kids this past week. He didn't want to live in the streets again since it wasn't very comfortable and he was always hungry, and the old man seemed nice enough. He was going to miss the free ramen though.

Sarutobi stood up and beckoned Naruto to his side as he walked out the door. "Come Naruto, I'll bring you to Ichiro."

* * *

"Naruto! Sit down!" 

The now 7 year-old Harry was trying to get his honorary brother back to work on the English written language, but the blond-haired mass of energy was instead trying to mimic a ninja he had seen and throw a kunai. Harry sighed and gave up for now; the table that they were working at promptly disappearing.

It didn't take long for Naruto and Harry to realize that their dreamscape could and would become anything that they could think of. They had lots of fun thinking up the weirdest and coolest objects and places. The only problem was that it depended on their knowledge of the things they wanted. For example, when Harry had first described a car to Naruto (something Naruto couldn't quite wrap his mind around), the blond-haired boy decided he needed to see it to believe it. But instead of asking Harry to think it up, Naruto tried to imagine what it was like. Needless to say that Naruto's version would never actually be physically possible or useable in real life.

Another example is when Harry, who hadn't done his homework yet (since the Dursley's had locked him in his cupboard after fighting back when Dudley tried to beat him up), had tried to finish it there. Not only did no question after number 7 show up since he hadn't read those questions yet, but even though he finished the rest his answers they weren't actually on the paper the next morning. But the fact that nothing physical carries over to the waking world also ended up being a bonus whenever either boy got hurt since they were back to normal again in the morning.

Harry watched as Naruto tried again and again to hit a target with a kunai. The older boy didn't have the heart to drag Naruto back to work, and to be honest the seven-year old was feeling restless too, and what Naruto was doing did look like fun...

A few seconds later Harry was standing next to the blond haired boy throwing his own set of kunai.

Though neither boy realized it, the past dozen of months had been life changing for the both of them. They were more confident, healthier and generally happier.

It all started when Naruto was sent to live with the Hokage's oldest son, Ichiro, Ichiro's wife, Yui, and their two-year old son, Konohamaru. The Sarutobi's were very welcoming to the blond and made him feel right at home. He wasn't sneered at, he got plenty to eat, they were teaching him how to read write and do some basic academy ninja exercises. It wasn't long before Naruto became the talkative, energetic boy that he had only been in Harry's presence before.

Naruto had also decided what he wanted to be when he was older. After sharing many walks and talks with the Sandaime (who Naruto took to calling 'old man'), he noticed how everyone loved and respected him. Yui explained that the Hokage was the strongest ninja in the village, and it was his job to care for and protect the village. The villagers know this, and therefore loved and respected the Hokage in return.

To Naruto, there was no turning back. He _knew_ that was the job for him. He would do anything to protect his precious people, and the more precious people the better. He would just have to prove to the village that he was worthy of their respect and love too.

Naruto's new living arrangement also indirectly brought upon Harry's transformation into the confident and independent child he was today. Harry had already known all about ninjas in Naruto's society and how Naruto wanted to become one, but he had always figured that Naruto meant the type of ninja like on the cartoons Dudley watched – people who wore all black and were very good at fighting and stealth. He never knew that they had such a thing as chakra.

One night, when Naruto was rambling about all the cool things he learned and did that day, he mentioned how he had seen a ninja use a henge – or illusion – to look like someone else. Once Harry processed that Naruto was talking about something that was impossible, unnatural and _freakish_, as if it were an everyday occurrence, he interrogated his little brother on all things chakra.

According to Naruto (who had asked Yui, Ichiro and the old man), chakra was something that everyone and everything had. But only some people could use it, and even then you had to be trained properly.

Harry realized that  
- Yes, magic – or chakra – _did_ exist  
- Therefore he must have really turned his teacher's hair purple, opened the locked cupboard door, re-grew his hair and all those other things he'd been in denial about  
- Other people probably had it too, but they just couldn't use it like he could  
- His Aunt and Uncle must have known; why else would they be so against anything abnormal and hate him so much?

Since then Harry and Naruto have been trying out their powers and seeing what they could do. This in turn boosted Naruto's confidence (especially since he was the one doing most of the teaching to Harry) and increased his own skills, so that Naruto was positive that he'll one day become a great ninja and Hokage. And it allowed Harry to gain leverage on his family, ensuring he'd get proper meal portions, Dudley's second bedroom, and he was left alone more (which gave him more time to try out new techniques). Granted, Harry still had to do an unfair amount of chores and his family hated him more than ever, but that was fine with the brunette - Naruto was all the family he needed.

* * *

A/N: If I didn't come across clearly, this is how the dream world works: 

It's sort of like the room of requirement (from HP), but not as good. For example, in the room of requirement if you want books on bogarts, all books that even reference bogarts will appear, whether or not the user has ever heard of the book before. For Naruto's and Harry's dreams, at least one of them had to have already thought of the book (even if it;s subconsciously). Even if they had only read the book once, all the info will be there since they have it in their subconscious. But if they had only heard of the book or haven't read it, the inside pages will be blank.

This is the world of their subconscious, so even if they're awake all night in the dreamscape, their bodies will be fully rested when they wake (though they might be mentally tired, which is why they sometimes sleep within the dreamscape). At this point in time, both boys are able to spend 3 full nights 'awake' before they need a whole night of real sleep to deal with mental exhaustion. As they get older they'll be able to deal with it better and both stay mentally aware for longer and process more information better (this will be important for how Naruto is able to cope with so many shadow clones).

Since the dreamscape happens in their heads, they can't improve physically while asleep. They can practice fighting and think of new moves, but they won't be really exercising or developing muscle memory (if you've ever read Chunnin Exam Day by Perfect Lionheart, it works sort of like that, except for dreams instead of repeats).

Next chapter: Naruto starts attending the ninja academy.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I have no idea when school is in session in Japan (or even if Naruto follows the Japanese school system). Therefore I'm writing this in accordance to the school system I'm familiar with; therefore the school year starts in September and ends in June with two months break. This in turn will mess up with the timeline a bit (for example, I'll be having the chunnin exam in Dec./Jan. instead of June/July.) This also means that Naruto will be 11 when he becomes a genin, turning 12 a few months later.

* * *

Umino Iruka looked around at his first ever class. Sure, he had been an assistant teacher before and had even taught a few lessons on his own, but this was the first time he could call a class full of students his very own. The other teachers said that your first class was usually the most memorable and the one you become closest with. Iruka had a feeling that even without this being the first group of students to call his own, this class would have been memorable. After all, it isn't often that you get such a big group of kids especially when at least a quarter belong to Konoha's infamous clans. 

It isn't rare for a baby boom to occur after a war; what better way to celebrate newly found peace than finding someone to love and creating a family? In fact if Iruka remembered correctly, his class would make up almost half of the total amount of students attending the ninja academy. Granted that by the time the students reach their third year at the ninja academy about half of a class leaves, deciding that becoming a ninja just isn't for them.

The school system for Konoha's shinobi is as follows: all children start attending school the September when they're turning 6. It's only half days at the civilian school where they learn how to read and write and do some basic math. The next year they continue to have half days at the civilian school and can start attending the ninja academy for the other half of the day. Even children who don't plan to become ninjas usually attend the first year or two at the ninja academy, since they learn basic self defence and survival training (which is useful for anyone, ninja or no) and they learn more in depth history of the ninja wars.

Due to the large number of students this year, they split the class in two; so while half the class is in the civilian school, the other half would be attending the ninja academy and then in the afternoon they would switch. This was different from other years in that before, they could just keep all the students together, allowing both the ninja instructor and the civilian teacher to get half a day off. Which was probably why they gave the 18 year old newly-christened chunnin such an important class. That, and the other instructors probably didn't want to deal with the fussy and demanding clan heads.

When the children finish their 3rd year of school (2nd year in the ninja academy), they choose whether they want to attend the civilian or ninja school full time for the next three years (longer for the civilian school). Usually around half of the class stays in the ninja academy while the rest go to the civilian school. This is also when the practical lessons in the academy involve chakra use and jutsus instead of just strategy, traps, survival training and taijutsu.

From this point on students are allowed to try graduating early (though if they have parental permission, they are allowed to take the test even earlier, like Uchiha Itachi who only spent one year in the academy and Hatake Kakashi who didn't even attend one whole month). It is strongly recommended that students don't try passing the exam until the end though.

Once they pass the academy exam, they are split into teams of three based on their strengths and weaknesses. Priority is given to older graduates, so even if someone graduated early (which is pretty rare) he/she might not be put on a team until their year-mates graduate anyway. Generally these people tend to go back to the academy to wait with their year-mates, but sometimes they find someone who is willing to train them one on one or joins a team that is missing a member.

Once on a team, they are assigned a jounin instructor, also based on the teams strengths and weaknesses, who will teach them higher level jutsus and lead them in missions; allowing the students improve their skills, gain experience and develop their own specialty and style of fighting.

The jounin instructor has the right to refuse teaching the team. Therefore each jounin usually has their own test to see if the students are skilled enough, mature enough, and all around good enough that the jounin is willing to train and lead them for the next few years. Any teams that fail the jounin's test usually end up back in the academy; unless they can find someone else to take them in (which is also very rare). After a year or two of not being able to join a team/get a jounin instructor, most students go back to civilian school and quit being a ninja.

If Iruka went with the averages of previous years, of the forty-something number of students in this class, Iruka guessed that only around twenty would stay in the academy after the third year, maybe a bit more. By the time they were ready to graduate, another five to ten would drop out after realizing that they didn't have the necessary skills and/or drive to continue being a ninja. Most of the students who stay till the end pass the academy exam, but for usual-sized classes only one team for every two years usually end up passing the jounin's exam. Considering the large number of the class, Iruka figured they were guaranteed at least one genin team from this class. Then again, considering the large amount of students from ninja clans, maybe two or three teams might make it.

It always shocked Iruka that only an average of seven percent of children born in a given year will make to a genin team. And that's not even going into how many of that seven percent end up getting the rank of chunnin or jounin.

But then again, those statistics were for times of peace (like now), when students weren't encouraged to graduate early and when jounin could afford to be picky and any lone genin couldn't easily find a team with a member or two short to fill in for.

Iruka pushed the statistics to the back of his mind; the students had finally settled down. Iruka took a large breath and begun his first lesson.

* * *

Naruto sighed once again as the math problem in front of him refused to solve itself. He would much rather be with Harry, who was running around doing some exercises Naruto had showed him from the academy. But the blond knew that the green-eyed boy wouldn't let him get away with it until after the worksheet was done (correctly). 

While Naruto was enjoying most of his lessons at the academy (they had just learned how to set a basic trap, which Naruto was dying to try out), his classes at the civilian school were going very badly. His teacher didn't like him for some reason, and she made no effort to hide it. She never had enough books for the whole class – which always meant that everyone got a book except Naruto. Never mind the fact that the morning class had one more person than they did and they always seemed to have enough books. Anyone caught sharing or aiding Naruto got detention, so obviously the other students were no help. And any homework Naruto did complete was 'lost' or just got a zero.

Needless to say that Naruto took to skipping classes to practice on his limited ninja skills instead of suffering through all that. But then he got in trouble with the old man, and the last thing Naruto wanted to do was have one of his important people disappointed in him, especially after what happened to Ichiro and Yui.

When Harry found out how Naruto was treated, he was furious. The next little while was spent planning the best ways to prank the teacher and get revenge. There wasn't a day that she didn't have blue hair, or green skin, or could open the classroom door without consequence. Well, until the old man insisted Naruto put a stop to it. At least for now.

Unfortunately due to the teacher's unfounded hate, Naruto wasn't really taught anything, or was taught the wrong things. His assigned desk was way in the back, behind the tallest kid in class to make sure he couldn't see the board. Any assignments he got back were marked with the wrong answers. Thankfully, there was Harry.

Even though Harry and Naruto were taught different names and symbols for numbers, the math was still the same. Harry made sure that Naruto learned all he needed to know, which is why the blond boy was sitting at the table, doing a worksheet that Harry had given him.

In exchange, Naruto taught Harry everything he learned in the academy. But even though Harry was now the fastest kid at school and could easily beat up Dudley and his gang (who were still stronger, but much slower and very clumsy with no formal training), Harry would still lose to Naruto more often than not.

Currently Harry was practicing some taijutsu drills that Naruto showed him, but he knew he would have to do it again once he woke up. (They figured out that nothing physical that happens when they're asleep really happens to their body after Naruto got in trouble with Iruka-sensei for slacking on his homework/exercises. When Naruto tried to argue that he did do them, Iruka went into a speech/rant about how he obviously didn't since he had no muscle-memory of them and therefore his reflexes were too slow.)

After glancing dejectedly at his older brother one last time, Naruto forced himself to focus back on the evil math problems. At least Harry didn't know enough about Konoha's language and history to force even more homework on him.

* * *

The secretary ushered the nervous chunnin inside the Hokage's office. One could hardly blame the young academy teacher for being nervous; it wasn't every day that you saw the strongest ninja in the village, especially one on one. But if the young man prided himself on one thing, it was that he was a good teacher and did all he could for his students. Even if the student in question was one he wasn't comfortable around. 

When Iruka had begun teaching all those months ago, it had been hard; who knew that getting twenty-something six and seven year olds to sit still was so exhausting? Never mind the work involved of organizing lesson plans, marking assignments and making sure all the students understood what you were teaching. It was tiring work, but definitely worth it to see the kids learn and thrive.

Being the caring and dedicated teacher that he was, he always looked out to see if he could help his students; whether it was a child who needed another explanation but was too shy to ask for it, stopping someone from being bullied or making sure all the students had the necessary equipment for school.

This brought Uzumaki Naruto to his attention.

Well, to be fair Iruka had always noticed Naruto – how could he not? The blond was a mass of energy, he never sat still, was extremely loud, a compulsive prankster and if there was a fight, Naruto was involved more likely than not. The fact that he was the Kyuubi's container also put the blond-haired boy on Iruka's radar. But until recently, the young chunnin had just thought that boy was nothing but trouble and an annoying nuisance who didn't have the skills nor the attitude needed to be a ninja, let alone the next Hokage (as the boy always proclaimed he would be).

But then Iruka started noticing other things. Like the fact that Naruto didn't always have a lunch. Or that his writing skills and vocabulary wasn't quite up to par with his classmates, despite being in the same civilian class. That no one ever came to pick him up or drop him off at school. How the other kids avoided him and teased him. The fact that most of the fights Naruto got into was started by someone else. And the fact that Naruto always got in trouble for it, even if the other kid(s) didn't.

Iruka tried to convince himself that what he noticed were just one time things. After all, everyone knew that foxes were tricksters. He was probably just messing with the teacher. And there was no way the demon within him would let mere mortals treat him like that. But one weekend, when Iruka was buying his groceries, he witnessed the boy being kicked out of the store for doing nothing more than browsing for food.

There was no more denying it; Naruto was being mistreated. But how badly was it? And what could he do about it? When Iruka tried to bring it to his fellow teachers' attention, they just got mad at him. They said he was overreacting, and anyway, the boy deserved everything he got and more.

Since no one else was willing to help, and anything he did was overruled by the other teachers, Iruka made an appointment with the Hokage to try and find a solution. After a long time with no response, Iruka figured that his request was denied, which was just as well any way; the Hokage was certainly too busy to deal with such a trivial matter as a young chunnin's suspicions. And the school year was almost over now anyway. But just as he was considering making a second request, a messenger told him that the Hokage was willing to meet with him on the weekend.

Which is why Iruka found himself standing in front of the strongest ninja in the village, trying hard not to fidget.

"Ah, Iruka! How are you?" the Sandaime greeted with a warm smile.

"I'm fine Hokage-sama, thank you." The chunnin replied.

"You requested a meeting some time ago. I'm sorry for the long wait, apparently the paper work was, ah, misplaced." Sarutobi said, with a shadow falling over his eyes at the last word.

And now that Iruka thought about it, the secretary who had just ushered him in was different from the one that he filed the request with...

"So, you have noticed some discrepancies concerning Uzumaki Naruto, hmm?" The Hokage said, interrupting Iruka from his inner musings. "Tell me, what have you seen?"

Iruka proceeded to tell the leader of the village all the things he had noticed and/or suspected – how others treat the boy, children and adult alike; how he has no one to take care of him; how he doesn't always have a lunch, etc. If it weren't for the increasing ominous feelings in the room, the chunnin would have said that Sarutobi was taking everything he said quite calmly.

When the young man was done, the Hokage was silent for a few minutes. He stared intently at Iruka, making the chunnin feel as though his soul was bared and that he was being judged. After a few more moments of stifling silence, Iruka seemed to pass the examination – or whatever it was – since suddenly the room lost its oppressive atmosphere and became more welcoming.

"How much do you know about Uzumaki Naruto?"

Before Iruka could open his mouth, Sarutobi interrupted him. "I mean the child, not the demon vessel."

Iruka closed his mouth in confusion. Weren't they the same thing?

"What I'm asking Iruka-san, is if you know Naruto's favourite food. His favourite colour. Where he lives. His best friends. His favourite games to play. I'm asking if you know about the boy himself, not just of the demon he contains."

The academy teacher thought about it. He didn't know any of those things. Judging by the Hokage's knowing look, the Sandaime was aware of it too. Thankfully, rather than have the teacher scramble and stutter for an answer, he smiled at Iruka and stood up, beckoning the chunnin to walk with him.

"Well, there's no time like the present to find the answers, ne?"

* * *

'It's amazing how different something can be if you just take the time to step back and look at it through another perspective.' Iruka thought as he continued his stroll with the Hokage. 

For the past hour the Sandaime was regaling Iruka with stories pertaining Naruto, sounding for all the world like a proud grandparent. The teenager for his part couldn't help but grow fond of the Naruto in the stories; a mischievous, energetic boy with a heart of gold. Sarutobi stopped walking after finishing the story of the time Naruto stole his Hokage hat, and refused to give it back until Sarutobi was forced to send the ANBU after him.

Iruka looked around. They had stopped in front of an old apartment building in the cheaper part of town. He waited patiently to find out what they were doing there.

"Do you see the window on the top right?" Sarutobi asked his young companion, "That is where Uzumaki Naruto currently resides."

Iruka looked up in thought. It wasn't the nicest place, but from the looks of things it had a good view of the Hokage mountain and the most of the village. The windows were also big enough for easy access to the rooftops; but then again most apartments in Konoha shared that feature.

"Who lives with him? Shouldn't he be in the orphanage, surely he's too young to live on his own?" Iruka asked.

A dark cloud seemed to pass over the Sandaime's face as he replied. "He didn't always live alone. He had lived in the orphanage until he was 5, when he got kicked out. No one else was willing to take him in, so I had sent him to live with my oldest son."

No more words needed to be said – everyone knew what happened to the Hokage's oldest son and daughter-in-law. Over a year ago Sarutobi Yui died while on an A-class mission, and Sarutobi Ichiro was assassinated not even two months later for being the son of the Hokage. Fortunately their four year-old son still lives, but he's rarely ever allowed to leave the safety of the Hokage tower.

Though the Sandaime had another son who was only a few years older than Iruka himself – Asuma, if Iruka remembered correctly – he was somewhat estranged from his father and had left a couple of years ago to become one the Twelve Elite Guardians of the Fire Country's Daimyou. He only returned for the funerals and had no interest in raising Konohamaru, let alone Naruto.

As the Sandaime and Iruka made their way back towards the Hokage tower, the young brunette thought about all he had learned. Now that he thought about it, Naruto was similar to how he had been when he was a kid. When his parents died in the Kyuubi attack, Iruka was left alone and didn't know what to do. He turned to pranks and jokes to connect with others, but even then he still felt lonely inside. It wasn't until his talk with the Sandaime that he started to feel better. Maybe all Naruto needed was someone to talk to as well. According to the Hokage, Naruto's favourite food was ramen, and Iruka did love the ramen at Ichiraku's. Maybe he could treat the blond boy there sometime .

* * *

A/N: So Konohamaru's parent are dead, which is sad, but I needed Naruto to be fairly independent and living on his own because let's face it; Naruto has a clingy personality and would have idolized them too much for caring about him. And yes, he loves the Sandaime (and will eventually care for Iruka as well), but they don't live with him and are in positions were they can't show too much favouritism, and therefore don't influence Naruto as much as a parental figure would. 

Not to mention the fact that if Naruto was still in the Sarutobi's care while going to school, there was no way they'd let Naruto continue being treated the way he is. And unfortunately for poor Naruto, his suffering builds character.

So Naruto only lived with Ichiro, Yui and Konohamaru for about 7 months before they died and he got his own apartment. Just long enough to inspire love and loyalty to the village, build his confidence and allow him to figure out what his dreams and ambitions were in a caring environment. Convenient, no?

Next chapter: summer vacation and maybe the Uchiha Clan massacre.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I know that so far the story has focused more on Naruto than Harry, but that's only because so far more has happened to him. When Harry gets to Hogwarts the focus will shift to Harry until Naruto's genin exam, and then it should be evenly split between them.

* * *

Harry ran as Dudley and his gang chased him for another round of 'Harry Hunting'. You'd think they'd have learned by now that the messy-haired brunette could easily take on all of them, but then again it _was_ Dudley and his gang. 

But even though Harry could defend himself with no problems against the bullies, it usually just wasn't worth it – something the boys chasing him knew very well. Somehow the Dursleys and the other parents of Dudley's gang made it out that Harry was the bully instead of the other way around. Never mind the fact that the boys had Harry outnumbered six to one and that they were all bigger than him too. But if one of them came home with so much as a scratch on them, the parents raised such a fuss and made a huge production out of it, resulting in numerous detentions and endless chores for the green-eyed boy. On the whole, it was easier on Harry if he just ran away instead of fighting back.

Harry skidded to a halt as he saw that he had accidently run into the alleyway between the school building and the end of the chain-link fence surrounding the school property, where the school kept its dumpsters. Trapped as he was he would have no choice but to fight since he refused to just take the beating. Harry looked around fruitlessly for inspiration, trying to use the time it took the other boys to catch up to find a way to avoid fighting, and therefore avoid getting in trouble.

Suddenly Harry got an idea. During one of their many talks about ninja techniques that Naruto knew of, the blond boy said how he had seen ninjas disappear in a poof of smoke only to re-appear somewhere else. Neither boy had really tried that one out yet, since Naruto didn't know the hand-seals or anything else about how to perform it, he had just seen it done.

Well, there was no time like the present to try and figure it out.

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated with all his being on being somewhere else...somewhere where Dudley and his gang can't get him...

There was an uncomfortable sensation of being squeezed through a small tube and then Harry was suddenly on the roof. Harry whooped at his success, ecstatic at getting it right. He couldn't wait to tell Naruto!

Unfortunately his whoop of joy caught the attention of the teacher on yard duty, who promptly started yelling at him about climbing school buildings and detention. Harry sighed. So much for avoiding trouble.

* * *

Naruto walked down the street, a little at a loss for what to do. It was finally summer vacation, and even though Naruto was glad he wouldn't have to go to school for another two months (especially the civilian school), the blond was undeniably bored. Children from ninja clans usually spent the summers learning more about their respective clan techniques and histories. Civilian children helped their parents with their businesses or farms, or whatever they did for a living. Being an orphan, Naruto obviously couldn't do either. 

There was summer school, but it was meant for kids nine years of age or older – it helped kids who wanted to switch from being a full-time civilian school student to a full-time academy student, or vice versa, catch up with their peers.

The unknowing Kyuubi vessel wandered aimlessly, until he noticed his academy teacher waving his arms to get the boy's attention. At first Naruto didn't really care for Iruka-sensei; sure he seemed nice enough and was a pretty good teacher, but he had always looked at Naruto the same way as the other adults did; as if he wasn't really seeing the boy but through him to something else. That look always made Naruto feel small, insignificant and uncomfortable, as if he wasn't really there. But near the end of the school year, Iruka-sensei had started looking at Naruto as if he were really seeing him. And he had even treated the blond to Ichiraku's (which was his all-time favourite place to eat) after a few detentions. By the time summer break came along, Iruka was slowly but surely making a spot for himself on the boy's precious people list.

"Ah, Naruto! I'm glad I found you! The Hokage asked me to escort you to his office; he has a request for you."

"Ano? What does the old man want?" the confused boy asked.

"I think he has a proposition for you, but it'd be best to hear it from Hokage-sama himself. Come on." Iruka replied.

Excited about what the old man wanted, Naruto eagerly followed the chunnin towards the Hokage tower.

* * *

Harry hit the ground with a resounding thud. He was quick to roll out of the way of Naruto's following attack and get to his feet. The boys were sparring, which wasn't an unusual occurrence – boys will be boys after all. Especially when said boys were training to become ninjas. And even though any injuries sustained from their spars were gone when they woke up as if they were never there at all (which, they technically weren't), it still hurt in the dream world. And it was usually Harry who suffered more from it, being the physically weaker of the two, much to his displeasure. His only condolence was that he was still faster than the blond boy. 

Naruto's second year at the ninja academy was drawing to a close, and the energetic boy couldn't wait for next year when he could finally stop attending the civilian class with the unfairly biased teacher and attend the academy full-time. He was also hoping for an opportunity to make some friends since about a quarter the kids in his year will be in his class for the first time ever.

Naruto ran after the retreating brunette, hoping to press his advantage. But Harry used Naruto's momentum against his little brother and threw him to the ground. Unfortunately for the older boy, while falling, the blond snagged one of his wrists and dragged Harry down with him. Though Harry tried to spring back to his feet, he couldn't outmanoeuvre Naruto on the ground where his speed was next to useless against Naruto's strength. The blue-eyed boy finally got his older brother securely pinned (though he got an elbow to the face in the effort), forcing Harry to concede defeat.

After the tiring spar, both boys retreated to a comfortable spot beneath a giant tree that conveniently appeared, to catch their breaths and relax.

"Guess what? Oji-san said that some people from Grass country are going to visit next week, so I won't see the old man so much, but when they're gone he'll take me out to Ichikaru's!"

Ever since this past summer, Naruto had been seeing his honorary grandfather more often, which was a good thing in Harry's opinion since the dark-haired boy knew how much Naruto missed Ichiro and Yui, and how lonely he had been.

At the beginning of the summer, the Sandaime had offered Naruto a job of sorts. Apparently remembering the blond boy's dream of becoming Hokage from one of their previous conversations (and knowing that Naruto wouldn't have anything to occupy him during the summer months – and even more importantly that a bored Naruto was a very mischievous Naruto), Sarutobi allowed Naruto to work for him doing various odd-jobs in the Hokage tower. Naruto was obviously thrilled to start, but was a little disappointed when all he did was deliver messages and help file papers.

On the upside, Naruto now had a steady source of money (his child welfare checks always got 'lost') and was allowed in the Hokage tower whenever he wanted. And anytime the old man had a spare minute or two, he'd spend it with Naruto either talking, helping Naruto with his homework (even if Naruto would rather do other things) or treating the boy to something to eat (ramen more often than not).

The rest of Naruto's spare time (besides when Naruto was practicing some wicked cool ninja techniques of course) was spent in Iruka's presence, who usually treated Naruto to ramen anywhere from once a month to once a week. Iruka-sensei also took it upon himself to make sure that Naruto did all his homework (not that he wouldn't have done it anyway, eventually, since Harry would have been upset if he didn't) and help develop Naruto's lagging vocabulary and written skills.

After a few minutes of just relaxing, Harry started telling Naruto about what he learned that day.

It was a ritual of sorts – usually when they first show up in the dreamscape, they start out with a warm up and then Naruto teaches/tells Harry what he learned/did that day. After a few drills the boys sparred. Then they'd relax for a bit and talk about nothing and everything for a while. Afterwards, it would be Harry's turn to talk about his day and teach what he learned to Naruto. Afterwards they did what they felt like doing at that point in time. Sometimes they went swimming. Other times they just played around. Or worked on something one or both had problems with. Often they would just nap so they wouldn't get headaches from processing so much information without giving their subconscious enough rest to deal with it all. But as time went by, they had fewer headaches and therefore actually slept less and less.

Today, the boys were going to try and find a recipe that was easy enough for Naruto to use, using ingredients that Naruto could afford and make it so the meal was both nutritious and delicious.

When Naruto had first gotten his apartment, he obviously wasn't quite ready to live on his own. He'd only been 5 years old; definitely not old enough to know how to cook, clean and manage a budget. The Sandaime took care of all monetary issues and supplied a steady stream of genin to provide food and cleaning services for the blond, disguised as D-rank missions to the disgruntled ninja. When Naruto had started getting close to Iruka-sensei, the chunnin also helped Naruto with the household chores. It was very good timing when Iruka and Naruto became friends, since more than six months ago, near the beginning of Naruto's second year at the academy, Uchiha Itachi, the prodigy child of one of the most influential and powerful clans of Konoha, killed the rest of his family except his little brother, Sasuke. All ninjas and many civilians were shuffled around to try and fill the void the Uchiha Clan left behind; especially since at least 40 percent of the police force had been Uchihas. Therefore Naruto's genin helpers had stopped being assigned to help him and hadn't come back ever since.

Harry had tried to help his younger brother by teaching him how to cook and do laundry, which were tasks Harry often had to do for the Dursleys. While Naruto was able to learn how to do laundry easily enough, they found a problem with the cooking. None of the common dishes were the same and Harry had access to ingredients Naruto didn't have, and vice versa. So sometimes when the boys were in a curious and playful mood, they liked to experiment with cooking in the dreamscape. If nothing came of it, well at least they had fun throwing random things together and making a mess. If they were successful, then it would be good for Naruto who couldn't always depend on others for food.

* * *

A/N: I know Harry seems more mature than Naruto, even though there's only a year difference in age, and here are my reasons why: 

It's in their personalities. Naruto's a happy-go-lucky kind of guy who's very trusting of others and doesn't let anything get him down. This makes him seem younger and more naive than he really is. Harry however, is far more reserved and independent, which in turn makes him seem older and more jaded than he really is. At this point in time the only ones Harry trusts are himself and Naruto.

Since Harry is older, he has taken the role of older brother. He feels it's his responsibility to care for Naruto, and not the other way around. This mentality matured him more.

Though the majority of people are worse to Naruto than to Harry, Naruto still has a few people he can trust and depend on (from his own world). So even though Naruto has a greater understanding of people and the world in general than those twice his age, he has people that he can relax and let loose with and be a kid around. Harry is unwilling to trust anyone in his world, even teachers and other adults that have tried to reach out to him, and therefore doesn't drop his guard and relax unless he's by himself or in the dreamscape. Since he doesn't have any friends either, he never really acts his age and plays around unless it's with Naruto. Harry is convinced that he is better off without adults to depend on, and that he only needs Naruto as family (even though he's secretly jealous that Naruto has more precious people – both because he's not Naruto's only precious person and also because deep down Harry also wishes for an adult to rely on and love him).

Next chapter: Harry gets his Hogwarts letter (finally).


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Still don't own either Naruto or Harry Potter. And thanks to those who took the time to review. And sorry in advance for my poor attempt of replicating Hagrid's accent.

* * *

"Naruto!" 

Uzumaki Naruto paused from eating the goodness that was ramen long enough to find out what was going on. He looked behind him to see a rapidly approaching Umino Iruka looking very angry about something. Naruto wracked his brain to figure out which prank that he'd pulled would have this affect on the chunnin, and of those which one was he caught as the culprit. Best not admit anything until he knew more details.

"Ah, Iruka-sensei! Are you going to eat some delicious ramen with me?" Naruto asked in his most innocent voice and with his 'I-couldn't-have-possibly-done-it' face.

"Naruto..." Iruka growled out as a warning.

Seeing that Iruka wasn't in the mood for his 'I'm-oblivious' approach, Naruto tried another tactic.

"What? I didn't do it! I was framed I say, framed!" the boy yelled with highly exaggerated gestures.

Though anyone else would have missed it, Naruto knew Iruka well enough to catch the slight upturn of his lips and see his eyes soften from anger and gain a small twinkle of amusement at his theatrics.

'Mission accomplished.' Naruto thought with a grin.

"Naruto, I know you didn't like your teacher, but did you really have to make an experienced chunnin go through so much stress that he suffered a mental breakdown? He not only refused to teach your class again, but he quit being a teacher and vowed never to work with someone under the age of sixteen ever again."

Naruto snickered in satisfaction. As far as he was concerned, Hideto-sensei deserved everything he got and more.

"That's not funny Naruto," Iruka chided with an unhappy frown "just because you don't like someone doesn't give you an excuse to make their lives miserable. I would think you of all people would understand that sentiment."

Iruka's words sobered Naruto immediately. That was a low blow; it wasn't fair to compare Hideto-sensei to Naruto like that. Naruto never did anything to make everyone hate him so much. Unlike Hideto-sensei who definitely deserved it.

It all started in the summer before Naruto's third year of the academy. The blond had been eagerly waiting to attend the academy for the full day and was celebrating never having to go back to the civilian school ever again. But then he heard some bad news from Iruka-sensei; his favourite chunnin would no longer be his teacher.

Apparently people had begun to notice how close Iruka and Naruto were and didn't like what they saw. They claimed that having Iruka teaching Naruto's class would invite favouritism towards the blond and would be unfair to the other students (even though the other students could attest to the fact that Iruka was fair to everybody, and if anything was a little tougher to Naruto than anyone else while in the classroom).

Even when Iruka defended his after-school tutoring for Naruto as a service that he'd be more than willing to provide for any other student, they didn't believe him. Especially after the Uchiha massacre, since the chunnin was apparently wasting time and effort on Naruto which should have been spent on the last Uchiha, making sure the dark-haired boy was provided all the support and resources he wanted/needed. In Iruka's defence, the chunnin did try and reach out to the sullen child, but Sasuke rebuffed any and all attempts, preferring to be alone. Recognizing that the boy needed space, Iruka let him be with the knowledge that the chunnin was there if he needed anything.

Therefore it was a less enthusiastic than usual Naruto that started his third year at the academy.

Iruka-sensei made Naruto promise to behave and to give the new teacher a chance. He even made Naruto promise not to pull a prank for a full month! The first week wasn't even over before Naruto decided he didn't like the new teacher one bit. Hideto-sensei was just as bad, if not worse than the civilian school teacher Naruto had had. He taught Naurto the wrong information (like the wrong way to punch, fall and lay a trap), he ignored any of his questions, gave him very bad marks saying that he would never become a ninja and was just a jerk. What made him worse than the civilian teacher was that for one, these were skills Naruto would have to depend on for his life and the instructor was purposely sabotaging him, and secondly, although the civilian teacher was unfair to Naruto, she treated the other students all the same. This teacher had his favourite (Sasuke), the one he hated (Naruto) and the rest were just there. He only took the standard amount of time in front of the class to tell them what they were doing, then spent the rest of his time coaching Sasuke one on one much to everyone's disgust (even Sasuke's who'd rather be left alone).

Denied from pulling pranks (at least for a while) Naruto was soon skipping classes. The good news was that he wasn't the only one and formed a tentative friendship with a group of boys that usually skipped with him; Inuzuka Kiba (and his dog Akamaru), Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. And after his 'no pranks' promise expired, he was even able to rope them into helping him with a few. So even though Naruto didn't get much of an education at the academy, the school year wasn't a waste – he made a few tentative friends, he still practiced what he knew and things he wanted to try out on his own, the Sandaime and Iruka-sensei were happy to teach him every now and then on ninja skills, Harry still taught him about math and science (which was more advanced in his world than Naruto's) and he was way ahead of his year in stealth and traps thanks to his pranks and skipping lessons (Naruto didn't realise how hard it would be to prank and sneak away from the chunnin sensei versus the civilian teacher).

Though Naruto's pranks were always inconvenient and annoying, they were never harmful or debilitating. Something that always saved him from harsher punishments, not that Naruto would do any dangerous pranks in the first place. He had a sense of humour (unlike _some _people) and even though he did get a sense of justice from his pranks, he never did it purely for revenge or spitefulness. But apparently some people just can't deal with pranks. Hideto-sensei, who was a newly appointed chunnin despite being in his late thirties, had decided to become an academy teacher to get used to his rank before taking on C or B ranked missions. But apparently he just wasn't cut out for the stressful position since he had little to no class control and he became increasingly paranoid the longer the school year lasted (and the more often he was pranked). He kept it together until the end of the year, when Naruto, being the thoughtful boy that he was, decided to have an end of the school year celebration by out-doing anything he'd done before. (Naruto also did it since he needed a little pick-me-up from failing the genin exam. He knew it wasn't the best idea to take the exam two years before the rest of his classmates opted to take it, but he wasn't learning anything in school anyways and wanted to fulfill his dream of being the strongest ninja of the village as soon as possible.)

Nowhere on the school grounds was safe – the doorknobs were covered in vaseline, the coffee saturated with salt, pens and pencils set to explode ink or break with the slightest provocation, the training grounds were rigged like nothing else. Most of the academy teachers and jounin that were there to test any passing academy graduate (even those that didn't like Naruto) appreciated the skill and effort put into the traps and used the pranks as part of their end of the year test – they did what they already had planned for their students, with points deducted for every trap of Naruto's they fell for (many would-be-genins cursed the name Uzumaki Naruto after that day since not one of them passed their jounin's test and blamed Naruto's pranks for their failure).

This last maga-prank was the straw that broke the camel's back. Hideto-sensei reached his breaking point and left screaming for the Hokage's office and never came back. Most of the students agreed that that meant they had the rest of the day off, which was why Naruto was at Ichikaru's celebrating the end of another school year.

"I didn't mean to make Hideto-sensei break down!" Naruto said "I just wanted to have an end of the year celebration. It's not my fault he doesn't know how to take a joke." he sulked.

Iruka sighed, knowing that Naruto was right. He wouldn't have purposely done anything malicious no matter how much Hideto deserved it.

"Ano Iruka, does this mean you'll be our sensei again next year?" Naruto asked with hope in his eyes.

"I doubt it, but it is a possibility. I'll let you know when I find out, okay?"

Naruto agreed to those terms and dug into another bowl of ramen, courtesy of Iruka of course. Though Iruka would never actively encourage Naruto in his trouble making, there was no doubt that the chunnin was impressed with Naruto's work and not a little prideful that he accomplished all that with no damning evidence that he was behind it other than his reputation. But even if he would never say out loud how he felt about it, there was nothing wrong with treating Naruto out to some ramen right after a masterfully pulled prank. Or at least, that's what he told himself.

* * *

The sound of mail falling through the slot in the front door was easily heard over the noise of chewing and cutlery scraping against dishes. 

"Dudley, go fetch the mail." Vernon Dursley commanded.

"Make the freak get it!" his son whined in complaint.

"Boy, get the mail."

"Make Dudley get it." Harry whined back, hoping that his uncle was paying too much attention to the newspaper to process what was being said and by whom.

No such luck.

"Boy! I said get the mail!"

'Oh well, it was worth the try' Harry thought as he walked towards the front door, effortlessly avoiding Dudley's Smeltings stick on the way. He browsed through the mail as he slowly ambled back to the kitchen, since he had nothing better to do.

'Bill, bill...ugh, a postcard from Aunt Marge, ewww! she shouldn't have worn that bathing suit...flyer, another bill, ...what the hell?!'

Among the usual mail was a letter made of thick parchment and written with green ink, addressed to Harry Potter, Smallest Bedroom, Number 4 Privet Dr., Surrey England. Harry was confused, curious and more than a little creeped out. He hid the letter under his oversized shirt for further perusal and handed the rest of the mail to his uncle.

As his uncle sorted through the rest of the mail, Harry went to his room to get his backpack, the strange letter still hidden inside his shirt. He put the letter in his bag along with some notebooks and the books he needed to return to the library. He went downstairs to pack himself enough food to last the rest of the day before saying a short goodbye to his aunt – not that she cared where he was going, just so she'd know he wouldn't be available to do chores that day.

Ever since Harry had learned about his special abilities and therefore figured out why his relatives hated him so much, they've come to a sort of understanding. Basically it was a live and let live scenario where Harry and the Dursley's tried to avoid each other and only interacted if they had no other choice (except Dudley, who still tried to carry on with Harry Hunting even if it rarely, if ever, worked). Even though Harry still had to do a large amount of the household chores and he was still wearing Dudley's hand-me-downs, Harry got Dudley's second bedroom instead of living in the cupboard under the stairs, he got as much food as he wanted, he didn't have to throw his marks at school and most importantly, he got to leave the house pretty much whenever he wanted. This last freedom was highly encouraged by the Durlsey's who had given up trying to squash the magic out of him and instead tried to avoid him at all costs.

Since then the local library had become Harry's home away from home – or rather his first home since he didn't consider his relative's house as his home. After so many years of hearing "Don't ask questions boy!" and being strongly discouraged from beating Dudley at school, to have a place where he could sate his curiosity and learn all he wanted to know and more to his leisure was paradise. It was the only place besides the dreamscape where Harry felt truly relaxed and carefree.

Once Harry settled into his usual spot, he pulled out the mysterious letter and opened it, never guessing that the contents would be as life-changing as it would turn out to be.

* * *

"Dear Mr. Potter, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...ano, isn't witchcraft and wizardry the same thing?" Naruto asked his brother. 

"I think so. Maybe not though, I'll find out when I go to the school." Harry replied.

After such an exciting day, Harry couldn't wait to tell Naruto about what happened. Naruto had barely finished describing everything that had happened to him that day before Harry took over. He told Naruto about the strange letter he got in the mail and what it said before giving the blond a copy that the room provided.

"But don't you see what this means?! There are more people like us in my world. Hogwarts must be like the ninja academy and the only reason I didn't know about it was that I didn't live in the hidden village it's in!" Harry exclaimed, excited that he too would go to a school to learn more about his abilities and meet others (from his own world) like him.

"Hmmm...But even though I live in a hidden village, civilians from outside still know about ninjas and stuff. You should have already heard about wizards before now; how else would they be hired?" Naruto asked.

"...I don't know. I guess we'll just have to find out when I go to school." Harry said.

"Yeah, you probably can't wait to go searching through their library." Naruto replied, his face scrunched in distaste.

Even though Harry tried to pass on his love of books and learning onto Naruto, the blond still hated the thought of libraries. Naruto was a hands-on learner (though truth be told, so was Harry, it's just that no one was really willing to teach him except Naruto; in his own world he only had books to depend on) and lost his interest and concentration easily when reading. And any time he went into the village library, he was kicked out for making too much noise, even if he was as silent as a mouse.

So even though Naruto was just as curious and eager to learn as Harry, he rarely went searching for answers in books the way Harry did and instead tried to figure it out on his own or ignore the problem until later.

"What do they mean by 'we await your owl'?" Naruto asked.

"I have no idea." Harry replied.

After a few more minutes talking about the letter and magic, the boys decided to spar once again. Though this activity wasn't quite the same as it used to be – Naruto was improving in both strength and speed at a rate that Harry had no hope of comparing to. Though he was only a little slower than Naruto, his strength was no match. According to the blond, Naruto was only slightly above average in physical abilities at school (except when it came to endurance), and Harry knew that he was the most fit in his school. Maybe their anatomy was different? After all, Naruto had a crush on a girl with naturally pink hair, and if that was possible, Harry figured the fact that people were naturally faster and stronger in Naruto's world was possible too.

* * *

It had been almost a full week since Harry got the mysterious letter, and he still didn't know how to reply. He tried sending a letter with 'Hogwarts' as the only address information, but needless to say it was returned to sender. And everyday more letters from Hogwarts arrived in the mail for him. Harry thought it was silly that they'd just send more letters instead of telling him how to reply if they were worried about the lack of response. 

The problem was that a few days ago when a giant pile of Hogwarts letters came in the mail, and Uncle Vernon got to it before Harry could hide them. Since then Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia have been acting crazy, muttering about how they were being watched and that those freaks had no right to harass them as they were clearly doing.

Harry took to spending even more time than usual (if that was even possible) at the library to avoid the madness.

Ever since then, the problem had gone out of hand. Vernon nailed shut the mail slot hoping to deter the wizards. But the letters still somehow arrived in the house - like the time they found letters _inside _of Petunia's eggs; something that Harry thought was both cruel and unusual. And today, a maelstrom of letters was literally exploding out from the fireplace. Harry wondered why he even bothered coming back to the Dursley household at all (never mind the fact that the library is closed during the night) as he quickly grabbed his bag and ran out the front door for the library before he was blamed for the mess.

But once he was outside, he saw where the never-ending letters came from. A flock of owls would swoop down and drop the familiar looking letters down the chimney before flying away, allowing another flock with letters to take their place. Apparently wizards use owls to deliver mail.

'So that's what they meant by 'we await your owl''. Harry thought.

"Oi! You there!" Harry yelled to an owl, feeling a little ridiculous. But sure enough, one of the owls that had just finished dropping its letter flew over and landed right by him.

"Umm, I don't suppose you could take a letter for me to Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

The owl hooted, which to Harry sounded like a yes.

"Alright then, hold on a sec." Harry ripped out a piece of paper from his notebook and grabbed a pen before writing his reply. Once he was finished he folded the letter and tied it around the owl's leg with a spare elastic.

"Umm, thanks." Harry said, unsure if the owl understood him or not. It seemed that it did, since the owl immediately took flight and was soon a speck in the sky. Harry meanwhile continued his trek to the library.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall continued to sort through replies from the first year half-bloods and purebloods. Every year an average of thirty-five students were invited to Hogwarts. Of those, only around eight had no wizard relatives, and therefore had no knowledge at all of the wizarding world. The November before they're due to start Hogwarts (and when most start applying for their muggle middle school), Minerva visits each muggle-born and their family to tell them about Hogwarts and magic in general. 

At first they all think it's a hoax or something, until Minerva turns herself into a cat or does something as equally impossible by muggle standards. Then they are willing to hear a bit more, but are still leery of leaving their child in a world they had just heard of. Minerva will leave them to think, but will give them a means to contact her, or one of her associates, to learn more about magic and Hogwarts. Over the next few months she, Filius and Pomona (it's best for everybody if Severus isn't involved) will answer any questions and make themselves available for tours of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Usually by the time the pure-bloods and half-bloods get their letters all the muggle-borns have already agreed to attend Hogwarts.

Those with magical parent(s) don't get their letter until the beginning of summer, since they already knew it was coming and therefore already know whether they will accept or not. They have until the end of July to decide for sure. That's when the teachers will know how many new students are coming, and therefore what the classes and schedules will be like for the coming year. This is also when the upper years get their letters with their book and supply lists.

"Thank you for the invitation, but we must decline..." Minerva read and sighed as she crossed off Maria Radcliff's name from the registrar. Though the great majority of children invited to attend Hogwarts usually accepted, every now and then someone declined. The Radcliff's were renown for their abilities in potions, and lesser abilities in runes, but were next to useless at any other type of magic. Families like that tended to home-school their children, so they could spend more time in their specialty and waste less time on subjects they're no good at. Minerva personally felt it was better to have a well-rounded education even if you were only good at one or two subjects.

The cat animagus picked up the next letter in surprise. It was written on muggle paper and with a pen instead of a quill. Obviously a half-blood then.

'_To Whomever This Concerns,_

_Yes, I would like to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But, where do you buy the supplies needed? Assuming that there is some sort of magical shop of course. And where is Hogwarts? How much does the tuition cost? Is there a scholarship I can apply for if i don't have the funds needed?_

_Signed,_

_Harry Potter_

_P.S. Can you stop sending me all those letters please? If you wanted me to reply earlier, you should have just told an owl to wait around for me to send a letter back with it._

Minerva re-read the reply. That wasn't right. How could Harry not know the answers to those questions; she distinctly remembered Lily's sister being there when she answered all those questions about the wizarding world and took the Evans' shopping in Diagon Alley. Albus needed to see the letter.

In no time at all she found herself in front of the Headmaster, automatically declining the sweet Albus offered her.

"Albus, I was led to believe that even though Harry Potter would live in the muggle world, that he'd have full knowledge of the wizarding world and his heritage."

Albus looked up in surprise. "Of course; he's living with his aunt who, as you know, has full knowledge of such things and therefore will tell young Harry." The bearded man replied.

"Then how do you explain this letter I received?" Minerva asked, giving Harry's letter to the Headmaster. Albus' eyebrows rose as he read; by the looks of things Harry probably hadn't even known that magic existed, let alone all the things about magic and the magical he should have known.

"Oh dear, it appears as though Mr. Potter has the knowledge of a muggle-born about magic. Would you be able to stop by his residence any time soon to teach him all he needs to know?"

"I'm afraid not," Minerva said with regret "I still haven't chosen this year's Gryffindor prefects, tomorrow I'm spending the day with Mr. Boot and his family to answer some more questions and this weekend I already promised to take Ms. Granger and her family shopping."

Albus thought about the rest of his staff. Filius was away at a duelling camp that he volunteered at, Ponoma was working on a dangerous plant and wouldn't be free until the end of August, when the plant's gestation period was over. Severus was ensuring that the hospital wing was fully stocked and everyone else was away. Except Hagrid of course.

"No worries Minerva, I'll have everything taken care of."

* * *

Harry washed his plate and put it in the strainer to air dry. It was Saturday, which meant that the library closed early so he wanted to make sure that he got there as soon as possible. He wanted to go through some more anatomy books to see if he could find any trace of the chakra coils and chakra pool that's written in the books from Naruto's world. So far he had only found diagrams of muscles, nerves and organs, but no chakra system. 

Suddenly there was a knock to the door so loud and powerful, Harry thought the door would break down.

"What in the...who the hell would try to break down an honest man's door at this time in the morning?!" Vernon yelled. "Boy, find out what in the world's going on!"

Harry reluctantly made his way to the door. He looked out the eye-hole, but wasn't able to see anything. When he did open the door it was to find the largest man he'd ever seen in his life; he was easily 9 feet tall and 3 feet wide. He had a scruffy appearance (Harry realized that it was the man's beard which didn't allow him to see anything out of the eye-hole), but his eyes were kind and gentle.

"'ello, you must be 'arry. I 'aven't seen you since you was a baby. You've grown quite a bit, I'd say."

"Ummm..." Harry didn't know how to respond to this stranger, or the situation in general.

The giant man laughed. "Nah, I don' reckon that you'd 'ave remembered me. 'nyway, I'm here on 'ogwarts business. I'm here to take you shopping for your school supplies."

* * *

A/N: Woo hoo! Finally time for Hogwarts! You know by the time the genin exams come around people will be asking where Naruto is. 

Notes: Even though Harry is more studious in this story than canon, he's no Hermione. He still prefers hands-on learning and follows his own rules. It's just that until now his only escape (besides the dream world) is the library. The Harry from the books was discouraged from thinking for himself and asking questions; this Harry not so much. Instead of just accepting magic and what people tell him, he's going to question the hows and whys of everything, especially when it goes against something he learned from Naruto. And as he makes friends and is further from the Dursleys, he'll open up more and become more like the Harry of canon; just a bit stronger, smarter and more independant (but not super Harry).

Next chapter: Shopping in Diagon Alley.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This is the longest chapter yet and the first Naruto-free chapter. The reason for that is that it has a lot of information; I used the trip to Ollivander's as an excuse to explain the differences and similarities of chakra and magic. Hopefully it all makes sense, but just in casse I'll probably go over it again in more details on a another chapter, maybe I'll get Naruto to question the Hokage on chakra based on what Harry learns.

* * *

After a lot of ranting and raving on the Dursley's part (and Dudley gaining a pig tail), Harry was making his way through London with Hagrid towards the mysterious magical shopping centre. Though Harry was dying to ask questions, Hagrid said it was best to wait until they were at Diagon Alley where he could speak without being overheard by "muggles" (which are apparently non-magical people). 

Harry thought back to what he learned from the argument between the Dursley's and Hagrid. Apparently his parents were also wizards, something that wasn't really a shock to Harry since he'd guessed as much based on the way that the Dursley's called them no-good freaks and such (if they even talked about his parents at all). And if Harry read between the lines – or looked underneath the underneath as Naruto would say – his aunt had actually been jealous of his mother. Harry didn't know whether to be incredulous that his aunt hated him and his deceased mother so much because she couldn't let go of her spite, or feel sorry for his aunt for being unable to live her life without letting go of all those negative emotions. And another thing, his aunt had mentioned that his parents "had gone and gotten themselves blown up", when he'd been told that they had died in a car crash. The fact that they lied about his parents' death didn't surprise him in the least, but he had stayed quiet hoping she'd reveal more information. Unfortunately she didn't, but Harry hoped he could find out what he wanted to know in the magical world.

One thing Harry could tell about being a wizard was that it was nothing like being a ninja. Hagrid's size alone made people stop and stare as they noticed him, and the fact that Hagrid would stop to point at perfectly normal sights like parking meters and exclaim how odd muggles were for living without magic...well let's just say that Hagrid was no master of blending in. If all wizards were even half as obvious as Hagrid, then ninjas and wizards were two completely different things.

They stopped walking in front of a dingy bar with a sign proclaiming it to be 'The Leaky Cauldron'. It was here that Harry felt somewhat more confortable, since the disguise was more akin to a ninja and he felt that maybe wizards weren't _that _different – not only would such a dirty looking place throw off anyone who was looking for the gateway to a popular magical shopping centre (though the name should be changed to have no magical connotations), but the genjutsu appeared to be top notch; the people on the street would look at the bookstore on one side and their eyes would smoothly slide over the pub to look at the record store on the other side as if the pub wasn't even there. Harry wondered how they were able to target the illusion to only muggles.

After a quick chat with Tom the bartender, which somehow ended up with Harry shaking the hand of every single patron in the bar, Hagrid led Harry to the back alley behind the pub.

"Why did all those people know who I was? And why did they want to shake my hand?" Harry asked his guide. The pre-teen was rather upset; he liked to be on the sidelines observing rather than in the spotlight. Almost his whole childhood was spent trying to be unobtrusive and fade in the background. He already didn't like the fact that he was entering a society he knew nothing about, but the fact that all these people knew who he was and he had no idea why bothered him a lot more than he was willing to admit. After learning that he had special powers and how his relatives knew about it and hated him for it (all without telling him about it); well let's just say that Harry _hates _it when things are kept from him, especially if it concerns him.

"Blimey! I forgot you wouldn't know about that either...Ah, I don't know if I'm the best person to tell ya about that, but you can hardly go to 'Ogwarts not knowing! I suppose we'll talk after all your school things are taken care of."

Though Harry was upset that he wouldn't have his answers right away, he was willing to wait for the promised chat.

"Now let's see...which one was it again...?" Hagrid mumbled to himself as he stared at the wall.

"Three bricks up and two to the left of the garbage can." Answered a crisp, no-nonsense voice.

Hagrid and Harry spun around to see a group of four who had just stepped out from the Leaky Cauldron. There was a girl around Harry's age with bushy brown hair and slightly buck teeth, a man and woman in their thirties that were obviously the girl's parents, and a stern looking woman who had just spoken.

"Professor McGonagall! Harry, meet Professor McGonagall, she'll be your transfiguration teacher. Professor, this here'd be 'Arry Potter. I was just going to give him the tour of Diagon Alley and help him shop for his school supplies." Hagrid said.

"And this is Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts' groundskeeper." Professor McGonagall said, speaking to the Grangers before turning back to Hagrid and Harry, "With me are Greg and Marie Granger and their daughter Hermione, who will be starting her first year of Hogwarts like you, Mr. Potter."

The group walked together along Diagon Alley towards Gringotts; the Grangers had to exchange pounds for galleons and Harry had to collect money from the vault that Hagrid had said was left to him. As they walked Hermione's parents, who had taken a liking to the soft-hearted half-giant, asked questions about Hogwarts and the magical world in general. Minerva silently walked alongside them, only speaking to add a comment or two to Hagrid's answers. Meanwhile, Hermione approached the wide-eyed and openly gaping Harry, hoping to make her first ever friend.

"Hi! Are you muggle-born too? I was so shocked when Professor McGonagall came to my house to tell me that I'm a witch! I mean, yes some strange things have happened over the years, but I always assumed that they were coincidences! I can't wait to learn more! What house to you think you'll be in; I'm rather hoping for Gryffindor, Professor McGonagall is the Head of Gryffindor, did you know? And Albus Dumbledore, the school's Headmaster and the strongest wizard of the age was supposedly a Gryffindor as well. But, I suppose if I were to be in Ravenclaw instead it wouldn't be too bad..."

Harry just looked at the girl flabbergasted. She had said all that in one breath – a feat Harry wasn't even sure Naruto was capable of. And most of what she said went over his head. He had no idea what she was talking about. Before he could stammer out some sort of response, Professor McGonagall came to his rescue.

"I'm afraid that Mr. Potter is a little behind on his knowledge of the magical world." She begun, gaining the attention of the whole group. "He is a rather unique case. As you know, Hogwarts usually sends a representative to muggle-born students months before they're due to attend; this way they have time to learn about, and familiarize themselves with the magical world. Those that already have a magical heritage however, do not get these visits; they receive a standard acceptance letter since close to one hundred percent has a parent who had already attended Hogwarts and therefore they already know everything they need to know before starting school. Harry's parents were magical – I had taught both of them at Hogwarts. But they had died when he was still very young and he was sent to live with his aunt who was a muggle. Since his aunt had full knowledge of the magical world and Harry's abilities, it was assumed that he would have the same knowledge as other children raised in the magical world, and was only sent the standard acceptance letter. Unfortunately, that was not the case as we have just found out his relatives had decided to keep his magical heritage a secret from him."

Hermione felt bad for her blunder – she was just trying to be friendly and now she probably made him feel bad about not knowing what she was talking about. But at the same time she was happy that she obviously wasn't going to be the farthest behind at Hogwarts despite being a muggle-born.

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When they first entered the majestic ivory building of Gringotts, Harry was awed. Hagrid's and McGonagall's words as they guided the group was haphazardly listened to as Harry took in the solid marble floor, the dark mahogany counters and the huge old-fashioned crystal chandeliers. Harry wasn't too fond of the bankers though – truthfully, the goblins were a little creepy and looked like they would be happier attacking you than helping you with your monetary questions and issues. The Grangers went to line up at a desk off to the side, while Hagrid and McGonagall accompanied Harry towards one of the many counters where a goblin was working. But Harry was quickly left alone when McGonagall ordered – uh, told – Hagrid that they needed to talk after Hagrid pulled out a letter telling the goblin that he had come to pick up "you know what" in vault "you know which". Hagrid gave Harry a small golden key before going to have his chat with the stern teacher.

After talking with a goblin at one of the counters, Harry was led to his vault. The ride in the cart was exhilarating and Harry could have sworn he had seen a dragon on one of the sharp turns. Once Harry got over his shock about how much gold there was in his account, he asked the accompanying goblin about the value of the golden galleon, the silver sickle and the bronze knut and how much the items in his school list generally cost. He filled the pouch Griphook, the goblin who accompanied him to his vault, provided according to how much he thought he'd need (and a bit extra to buy some more books or something).

Once he was finished, Griphook led him back to the bank's lobby. As Harry looked around for Hagrid's massive form, he was approached by Professor McGonagall and the Grangers.

"Hagrid was needed for Hogwarts business, so you will be accompanying us to do your shopping." McGonagall explained.

Harry wordlessly complied and together the Grangers, McGonagall and Harry left to spend the rest of the day shopping for supplies.

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Shopping was way better than Harry assumed it would be. Since they already knew what they wanted/needed to get, it was a fairly quick and painless experience with next to no time wasted on browsing or window shopping. Granted, they still weren't done, but so far the only places they spent an unusually long amount of time at were the bookstore and the quidditch supply store.

When Harry saw the broomsticks proudly displayed by the window, he couldn't help but exclaim his shock at the fact that yes, witches actually do fly on brooms. While this comment baffled McGonagall, the Grangers shared a knowing smile and chuckle. This in turn led to a discussion on quidditch, the sport of choice in the wizarding world. Harry was definitely interested in trying it – who wouldn't want to play a sport that involved flying at high speeds? His interest increased when he noticed the obvious pride and enthusiasm in the professor's voice as McGonagall talked about the Gryffindor team and how talented Harry's father used to be when he had played. Before then, Harry never would have pegged McGonagall for a sports enthusiast.

When Hermione asked why first years weren't allowed to bring their own brooms, McGonagall explained that even though almost every witch and wizard knew how to fly, not everybody was good at it. No one was allowed to bring their own broom and/or fly without supervision until the Hogwart's flying instructor deemed them worthy. Even though this rule applied to all years, it was only mentioned in the first year's letters since the older students knew the rules and it was easier to deal with those needing to get their brooms sent to them than those who have to send it back home and/or keep it locked up.

Flourish and Blotts, Diagon Alley's bookstore, took up more than half the total time of the entire shopping trip. Hermione had been thrilled when she found out that Harry was a fellow bookworm. Though they had gotten along throughout the entire trip, the bookstore was where they had begun to really bond and form a true friendship.

The adults eventually convinced the children that it would be no use buying the entire bookstore – Hogwarts had the finest magical library in all of England and they could always come back to buy books later. They settled on buying 4 extra books each, other than the mandatory textbooks already on their school list. It was an unspoken agreement between Harry and Hermione that they would be allowed to borrow and read the other person's books once they were at Hogwarts.

After much deliberation, Hermione got '_Hogwarts: A History'_, '_Understanding Potions_', '_The Greatest Witches and Wizards of the Century_' and '_The Merits of Transfiguration_'. She opted for those books since transfiguration and potions were the subjects that interested her the most and she felt that it was important to know the history and important facts of the magical world and Hogwarts. Harry got '_Curses and Counter-Curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying, and Much, Much More)_' (the only reason he bought it was because Naruto would have killed him if he didn't. Not because he was interested himself. Honest!), '_Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_' (he agreed with Hermione that it was important to know some basic facts and history of the wizarding world), '_The Healer's Basic Guide to Healing_' (a rather redundant title in Harry's opinion, but he wanted to know if wizards had a similar magical system to the chakra system in Naruto's world) and '_Quidditch Through the Ages_'. 

Finally they were done at the bookstore and only had one item left – their wands. Harry was both excited and apprehensive about getting his wand; on one hand, this is what will make him a wizard and allow him to do magic according to all the legends and stories. On the other hand, no one in Naruto's world used wands and Harry had been able to cope this long without it – assuming of course that chakra and magic were the same thing.

The group of five made their way into Ollivander's. The shop was empty and rather dusty. The bell above the door rang as the door opened and closed, so the group waited for someone to come to the counter. Harry and Hermione were a mass of nerves, so it was really no surprise that they jumped (and in Hermione's case, screamed) when Ollivander appeared out of nowhere. Harry mentally berated himself – he should know better than to be unaware of his surroundings. Though to be fair the adults were just as surprised.

"Ah! Mr. Potter, I had been expecting you. I remember your parents coming in for their first wands like it was yesterday; your mother's was ten and a quarter inches, willow, nice and swishy. Nice wand for charms work. Your father on the other hand favoured a pliable mahogany eleven inches, excellent for transfiguration. Well, your father didn't so much favour the wand as the wand favoured him; the wand chooses the wizard you know!" Ollivander said. He then turned his attention to Hernione. "I don't recognize your face, muggle-born I wager. Excellent! Muggle-borns are always such a challenge since I never know where their strengths lay. Who would like to go first?"

Harry silently indicated that Hermione could go ahead of him, and the girl was quick to take him up on the offer. She scurried over to the lone stool as Ollivander left to grab one of the many boxes piled high in the shelves.

"Mr. Ollivander," Hermione said as a magical measuring tape started working on her, moving on its own and measuring every little thing, like the space between her nostrils. How that would help her find her wand, Harry wasn't sure. "how are you able to tell when a wand suits, or chooses, the wizard. I mean, shouldn't all wands work for all witches and wizards?"

"Wandlore is a complex and mysterious branch of magic." ollivander replied "The first thing you must understand is that magic is just like any other gift – even though there are many magic users doesn't mean they all have the same abilities. There are many types of magic after all."

Hermione thought over what he just said. "So, even if two people are magically strong doesn't mean their magic is similar. So it's like singing; just because two people are excellent singers doesn't mean they're both altos?"

"Precisely. There are many branches in magic, and being good in one doesn't guarantee being any good at the others. Everybody's magic is different, and therefore everybody's wand should be different too. Each wand is made to harmonize with, focus and to some degree, amplify, the user's magic and therefore provide the best results of any given spell. So even though you could use a wand that isn't well-suited, it would still work but not half as well. The closer the match, the better the results."

"But how can you tell when it's a match? Or is it even possible to match every person to their ideal wand? And how can you tell what's in what box?" Hermione asked as she gave the first wand a wave.

Indeed, the store had tons of bookcases (all behind the counter of course), each with at least six shelves and all covered in identical boxes. If Harry had to guess the number of boxes – or rather wands – in the shop, it would have to be at least over a thousand.

"In every wand there are three main variables;" Ollivander explained, snatching away the wand and presenting Hermione with another one. "wood type, wand size and most importantly, the core. How I organize the shop is as follows; in each bookcase is a specific type of wood. On the top row of each bookcase, wands containing phoenix feather cores are stored. The second row has wands with unicorn hairs as their cores, and so on. The wands on each shelf are also organized by length; the shortest to the left and longest to the right. With so many possibilities for wands, it is true that it would be impossible to match each customer with their ideal wand, but I am still able to find compatible matches. As I had said earlier, it is easier to match up purebloods with their wands – family members tend to share similar magical traits therefore I already know where to start looking for their perfect wand. For example, Potter's in general are rather suited to transfiguration and defense against the dark arts. Therefore, when it is Mr. Potter's turn to get a wand I will begin over there, with some stronger woods like mahogany, teak and oak and try dragon heartstring cores. In fact, many families forego buying new wands for their children and just reuse wands from deceased family members. Even though it's possible that the wand will be well-suited to the child, it's no guarantee, and it's best to get tested for your wand. After all, young Mr. Potter may have taken after his mother in magic in which case the wands suited to an ancient Potter wouldn't suit him."

Finally one of the wands reacted to Hermione, shooting out a shower of blue and gold sparks. McGonagall gave Hermione a warm smile while her parents jumped in shock and then started clapping.

"Yes, Bravo! A fine wand indeed, nine and three-quarters inch vine wood with a dragon heartstring core. Rather powerful, but good with fine details, suited for transfiguration. Bravo!"

Hermione happily jumped off the stool, giddy about getting her wand. "Is that how you know that the wand is suited towards you; it shoots sparks?" Hermione asked as Harry took her place on the stool.

"Yes. All the other wands that gave no, or minimal, reaction would still work for you if you tried hard enough, but the spells would only have a fraction of the power as any that you use with that wand." Ollivander answered as he wrote down Hermione's wand's details before packing up her wand and handing it to her.

"Uh... can I ask a question?" Harry interrupted, "What is the point of the measuring tape?" Harry asked, indicating the magical measuring tape that was now seeing how long his shins were.

"You mean besides keeping my clients occupied as I gather wands for them to try out?" Ollivander asked.

"Umm, yeah." Harry replied.

"Nothing."

There was a moment of silence as the shop's patrons processed that information. Even McGonagall hadn't known that Ollivander just used the measuring tape as a means of distraction.

"Oh. Well, I have another question; are wands even necessary? I mean, haven't we been doing magic without wands this whole time?" Harry asked as Ollivander gave him his first wand to try out, and just as quickly snatched it back.

"Ah, you must be referring to the accidental magic that you had performed, correct?" Ollivander questioned.

Harry nodded as yet another wand was grabbed from his hand and replaced with a new one.

"Yes. It's true that wandless magic is possible, but it's neither reliable nor strong. The only reason you've been able to do it before was because you were so young. I don't think I'm wrong in assuming that you haven't performed any accidental magic recently. Children by nature have short attention spans, but once something has garnered their attention, they will be fixed on that object to the exclusion of all others. For example, let's say there is an object that is out of reach. Should the child want it, it will focus in on that object, ignoring everything else, which will in turn cause their magic to be directed at that object and therefore the child will perform wandless magic. Maybe the child will even get angry or frustrated, strengthening the magic more since our magic always responds to our emotions. Now let's say an adult wanted the same out of reach object. Because their mind is more matured and developed, they can have multiple thoughts at once, so instead of just focusing on the object and wishing it was in their hand, they would think through various ways to get the object, and the pros and cons of each method. It is too trying for adults to be so focused on one single thing, thus making wandless magic very difficult. You need a wand to focus your magic, or the spells will be so weak and sloppy that you might as well not have cast it at all."

Harry frowned at that; all the jutsus he knew were rather powerful, and they don't need wands. But then again, he didn't really know any spells or curses yet. Maybe they really were more powerful than the jutsus.

"Mr. Ollivander," Hermione asked, "how do wands work? I mean, surely we can do some magic without them?"

"Way back when, magic-users didn't use wands, but they still needed ways to focus and direct their magic. We still use some of those methods today, like with runes and potions. But for spells, they used incantations and hand movements to focus and direct magic to produce a specific result. But it took way more magic and time to produce the same effect wandless which it did with a wand. And many spells need too much power and focus to perform at all without a wand. With wands, you won't need to use half as much magic for a spell since not only are you using some of the magic from the wand core, but wands also focus and direct the magic so you waste less magic as well. After years of practice, and if the spell is simple enough, you will be able to cast spells silently and/or with no wand movements. And yes, even without a wand, but then you might have to use the wand movements and incantations. But as I had said earlier, the results will be far weaker and more wide-spread, further weakening the spell. The average wizard can only perform an average of three spells wandless, reliably."

Harry mused over Ollivander's explanation as he tried out more and more wands. The way he described the wand movements and incantations sounded a lot like how you perform jutsus – saying the name of the jutsu and going through the hand seals focuses and directs your chakra for a specific result. But why should it matter if you have a wand in your hand or not; either way you're using the hand movements and incantation to focus and direct the magic. Meanwhile, Ollivander was still talking.

"How a wand works is as follows; when you prepare for a spell, you subconsciously gather the magic needed. The wand movements will draw the magic to the wand, where the magic from the core of the wand will mix with your own magic; stabilizing the spell and slightly amplifying it. The wood provides a place for the magic to mix without sabotaging it and will ensure that the magic only leaves in the direction you wish it go. Before wands, it took far longer to perform any magic due to the time needed in rituals and potions. Wands changed the way we perform magic!"

As the pile of tried and rejected wands piled even higher, Harry took this opportunity to try and make sense of everything he had just learned about magic and compare it to everything Naruto had told him about chakra as he waved yet another wand. He knew that chakra had two types of energy - physical and spiritual. Physical energy was something everything had, it's basically your life force. Spiritual energy however is what is stored in the your chakra pool until it is called upon for jutsus and then is taken to the chakra coils to be mixed with the physical energy to create the chakra needed for the jutsu. So wands must be like a short cut, instead of first gathering the spiritual energy, then throughout the the handseals needed and jutsu name (which acts like an incantation) mixing the two energies to the proper levels, and then directing it, wands pull on the spiritual wizard's spiritual energy, bypassing the wizard's physical energy to mix with the wand's physical energy at the proper levels and then focuses and directs it at a level that a ninja can't hope to accomplish, especially in the midts of a battle. One thing was for sure – he and Naruto would be busy in the foreseeable future learning more about the theory of magic and chakra.

"But why use dragons and unicorns? Aren't wizards technically magical creatures too?" Harry asked. If his assumptions were correct, then it would explain why so many witches and wizards he had seen today were seemingly out of shape. Shinobi put as much time and effort (if not more so) training their bodies as training their chakra. Naruto had said that they were taught that relying solely on jutsus in battle was foolishness, since they take up so much time, effort and energy. Most ninjas only have enough time and energy to use around five jutsus in any given battle. The rest is taijutsu and weapons. But because wizards have wands, and therefore only use a fraction of the energy for a spell that a ninja would use for a jutsu of the same power, wizards don't have to depend on their bodies because there magic is good enough, lasting for the whole fight and then some. And because muggles rely on technology instead of their bodies as well, it's makes sense that Naruto is so much faster and stronger than Harry - it's natural selection that people in Naruto's world only have kids with those strong enough and fast enough to survive being a ninja (or living in a ninja-rich society) long enough to get married.

"Technically, yes a hair from a witch or wizard would be able to work as a wand core, but it would be so weak it's not worth making. We are magical, but we have nothing on phoenixes or unicorns, who are almost made of pure magic." Ollivander answered. Harry just guessed that humans don't have as much physical energy as those creatures.

Just then the wand he was holding gave out a few sparks.

"Oh! You did it Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I think not!" Ollivander countered as he yanked away the wand and replaced it with another.

Harry stared dumbfounded at what happened until Ollivander snapped him out of his stupor with a sharp "Well? Go on, give it a wave!"

Hermione, confused about the last few minutes, sought Ollivander for clarification.

"Umm...Mr. Ollivander? Why did you say that the wand wasn't a match for Harry? It gave out sparks."

"Yes, but only about seven sparks!" Ollivander explained, as he gave Harry yet another wand to try. "As I've already said, that some wands are more suited than others. The more sparks, the better the match. I refuse to let someone buy a wand unless they had at least twenty-five sparks on first contact, though I prefer to get fifty sparks or more."

More time passed as Harry tried more and more wands. At this rate, his arm was going to fall off! When he tried to apologize for taking so long, Ollivander waved him off. The wand-maker said that finding a suitable wand for him was the best challenge he'd had in years and his and Hermione's interest in wand-theory made their visit even more enjoyable.

Ollivander returned carrying another box. Even though Harry had long since lost count of what number wand this would be, he paused before he took it. Something in the way that Ollivander held the box as he carried it over and the way he seemed a little too intense and focused on what the result was made Harry realize that this wand, for whatever reason, wasn't a normal wand. When he grabbed it, he felt warm sensation go through his body and a waterfall of yellow, silver and red sparks flew out the end of the wand.

McGonagall smiled and the Grangers applauded as Harry finally found a compatible wand. But Harry's eyes were trained on Ollivander's reaction.

"Curious...most curious." Ollivander muttered, his face set in a pensive frown.

"What's curious?" Harry asked, a bit more sharply than he intended. He hated it when things were kept from him, and he had a feeling that Ollivander had already known what the result would be when Harry grabbed the wand. He wanted to know why Ollivander thought the wand would suit him and what was so great about the wand.

Ollivander looked up from his thoughts at Harry's question, fixing the brunette with an unblinking stare.

"It is most curious Mr. Potter, that you should be destined for this wand, when it was its brother that gave you that scar." Ollivander said, gesturing towards the lightning shaped scar on Harry's forhead.

"...Huh?"

McGonagall, who had been in a state of shock after hearing that Harry got You-Know-Who's brother wand snapped out of it after realizing that Harry had no idea what Ollivander was talking about. Even the wand maker who was usually unflappable seemed taken aback at the fact that the boy-who-lived didn't know his own history.

"Mr. Potter, please tell me you know how you got your scar! How your parents died! Why you are famous!"

The Grangers were looking distinctly uncomfortable; not really knowing what was going on but knowing it was very important. Harry just looked at McGonagall curiously; he had always assumed that his scar and his parents' death were linked, just as he assumed that the Dursley's lied about what really happened. But just because he knew they didn't die in a car crash didn't mean he had any idea of what really happened. And Hagrid was supposed to explain the whole fame thing after they went shopping for his school supplies.

McGonagall looked ready to burst. She took a deep breath and cooled down, but that seemed to almost make it worse – now instead of a big explosion it was like a simmering burn. Even Ollivander quailed under the force of her rage.

"Are you telling me, that not only did your relative's neglect to tell you of your heritage, your inheritance and your gifts, but they also didn't see fit to let you know how your parents died? How they faced the greatest Dark Lord of the century and died as heroes?" McGonagall asked, clearly trying to control her anger since the Dursley's were presently nowhere in sight.

Harry just nodded as McGonagall's lips thinned even more (if that was even possible). She gave a stiff nod before turning towards the Grangers. "I realize that you had invited me over for tea after this excursion to talk more about Hogwarts and magic in general, but I must decline. It seems that I need to accompany Mr. Potter home and have a _chat_ with his relatives."

No one tried to argue with her. It was a silent but restless group that made their way back towards the Leaky Cauldron. McGonagall was preoccupied by thoughts of the Dursley's and what she was going to do to them when they meet, Harry was both anxious and excited for the upcoming confrontation and the Grangers were dying to know the full story, but were too tactful to ask (though it took some unsubtle hints by her parents for Hermione to keep her mouth shut).

Unfortunately, the day wasn't quite over yet. No sooner had the group entered the pub than they were assaulted from people and flashing lights from all sides.

"Mr. Potter! After so many years in the muggle world, how – "

"– rumoured that you in fact had just found out that you inherited the four founders' vaults in Gringotts – "

" – adopted by the minister of magic and trained in battle tactics – "

The pub was crawling with reporters and photographers. When McGonagall said he was famous, he didn't think she meant this! And they were yelling the weirdest things; who cares what his favourite ice cream flavour was! And he didn't even know what a Graphorn was, so how could he have been secretly raised by them in the wild? And there were so many camera flashes, Harry was sure that he was going to go blind.

Harry was quickly separated from his companions as the reporters descended on him, grabbing him, yelling out and snapping pictures. Unfortunately for them, they picked a bad time to impose.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

The crowd parted as Professor McGonagall pushed her way through to her charge, glaring at anyone who dared get in her way.

"You all come in here, yelling and pushing and screaming! You're acting like a bunch of barbarians, attacking a poor boy! You should all be ashamed of yourselves! I certainly know you haven't acted this immaturely at Hogwarts, I wouldn't have allowed it. Instead of acting like the calm reasonable adults you are supposed to be, you take over Tom's fine establishment, pushing out its customers and those wishing to go from the wizarding world to the muggle one, and for what? So you can ambush an unexpecting child! You didn't even have the decency to make sure that his school supplies, which he spent all day shopping for, weren't damaged as you mauled him and tore him from his companions! I have half a mind to turn you all into pigs; that way you'll have better manners!"

The journalists quailed under the force of the professors wrath; many having flashbacks from their days at Hogwarts. McGonagall continued to tear into the scared and sheepish reporters as a few began picking up Harry's scattered supplies and handing them back to the shocked pre-teen. It seems as though Harry's first impression of McGonagall was right; she was definitely someone you did not want to piss off!

Feeling that the journalists were properly chastised, McGonagall turned back to Harry. "If any of your supplies are damaged or missing, let me know. I'm sure that the nice people here would be more than happy to reimburse you." She said, shooting a stern glare around the room for those that would even think of contradicting her.

Finally, the Grangers, Harry and Professor McGonagall found themselves in muggle London with all their supplies all in one piece. They said a quick farewell to the still shell-shocked family as Harry and McGonagall made their way to the underground.

"Come along Harry, you wouldn't want to keep your relatives waiting would you?" the professor asked with a sly smile. Harry responded with a smile of his own before picking up his pace. Now this was a meeting he just _had_ to see!

Posted: March 10, 2008

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I didn't originally plan for Hermione to be there, but she shoved her way in. Oh well. So I explained some facts about magic according to this AU; hopefully I made sense. 

A note on pairings: I'm well aware what kind of an impact pairings can have on a fic. There have been cases where I've stumbled along a well-written story with a good plot that I just couldn't force myself to read because I couldn't stand the pairing. Because of that, and the fact that everyone in the fic is still very young (Harry is only 10 and Naruto is only 9 - Harry's birthday didn't come up yet, he went shopping so early because he was able to respond to the Hogwarts letter earlier, avoiding the whole hut on the rock episode) _if_ I do have pairings, they won't be for a while yet.

I will say this much though - I am keeping the crushes from canon. So Naruto will have a crush on Sakura, Hinata will have a crush on Naruto, ect., ect. Right now the only ones who are changed from canon are Harry and Naruto, and they aren't totally different, just more confident and more knowledgeable, so there's no reason why any of them wouldn't have the same crushes. But that doesn't decide the final pairings. Most likely it will have Naruto/Hinata and Shikamaru/Temari, since I'm rather fond of those couples. I _may _change it if I get a mass amount of reviewers who want otherwise. The other pairings, I'll decide last minute or ask for the readers to decide for me (slash or het, I'm not picky), but remember, they won't be anything other than a subplot and it won't be happening any time soon.

Next chapter: Naruto and Konohamaru meet in the first time in four years and Harry takes the Hogwarts Express


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Another long chapter! Don't you guys feel so special and loved? Well, you should. Thanks to all those that reviewed.

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knock knock!

Vernon Dursley glared at the door as if it had just offended him. It was around 7 oclock in the evening and he was relaxing in front of the tv while his wife was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen and his son was upstairs playing video games. As for the freak; well he was gone at the moment and good riddance to him. According to the barbaric man that had come to pick the boy up, they were just shopping for school supplies and would be back about now. That hadn't stopped Vernon from hoping the boy wouldn't come back anyway.

_knock knock knock!_

The large man wondered if he could just pretend he hadn't heard the door and make the freak sleep outside. But as tempting as that option was, Vernon had no doubt that the giant man would knock down his door if he felt the need. Reluctantly, Vernon heaved himself up from his armchair and went to answer the door.

"Wha-!" Vernon Dursley's snarled question quickly died as he came face to face with neither the freak, nor the giant. Instead he was looking at the stern and disaproving face of a woman who looked to be around 50 years old with her brown hair done up in a bun, not a strand out of place.

"Mr. Dursley, I presume?" the woman said in a voice so dry Vernon felt he was dehydrated. The clear disapproval in her eyes made him feel two inches tall.

"M-(cough), Madame. How may I help you this fine evening?" Vernon said, trying to use his 'business voice'.

"My name is Minerva McGonagall and I am a professor at your nephew's future school. I would like to speak to you about Mr. Potter and his education, if you don't mind?" the woman said. It was clear that it was not a request, but an order.

Vernon would have loved to say no and slam the door in the woman's face. He would have loved to tell her just what he thought of his nephew and his kind. Instead, Vernon found himself meekly opening the door and ushering the woman to the living room, even offering her tea for goodness sake! And while his future professor sat elegantly,and just a little stiffly,in the living room and his uncle went to the kitchen to fetch his aunt, Harry watched from the sidelines, eyes brimming with glee and anticipation. This was gonna be _good._

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"And then what happened?" asked an eager Naruto, sitting literally at the edge of his seat as Harry talked about his busy day.

"And then McGonagall told them that if they so much as think about keeping anything from me or mistreating me ever again, she'll turn my aunt into a giraffe and my uncle into a whale!"

Professor McGonagall's, _talk_ with Harry's family was definitely a thing to remember. Harry's aunt and uncle had been like ill-behaved chastised children in front of their angry mother; slightly scared and ashamed and filled with righteous anger that they wouldn't dare show. It was even better when Dudley had come down to see what all the comotion was about; the spoiled boy had no idea how to react to the authoritative professor. The Hogwart's professor gave out a vibe that just screamed 'stern teacher' and anyone in her presence couldn't help but sit up straight and pay attention. And that was when she was calm.

When the professor confronted the Dursley's however, calm she was not. By the time she was done with them, it made the incident with the reporters seem like a friendly chat. The best part was that McGonagall didn't even use any magic (except to remove Dudley's tail) and she looked so normal that the Dursley's couldn't help but listen to her like they would a "normal" commanding person.

Needless to say that Harry didn't expect to have much trouble with his relatives in the foreseeable future. In fact, if Harry's guess was right then Dudley would be having nightmares - not about his pigtail, but about the stern teacher - in the years to come.

Naruto rolled on the ground laughing. He wished he had a teacher as cool as McGonagall! The boys spent the rest of the night fooling around and relaxing. Even though the rest of Harry's evening wasn't quite as pleasant – nobody liked to hear that their parents were murdered by a Dark Lord, who apparently tried to kill him too – there wasn't much he could do about it. He was just happy he finally knew the truth. And right now, he was too busy spending time with his little brother, so worrying about the fact that Voldemort might still be alive, or trying to find out how he himself survived the killing curse, could wait for another day. Right now everything was right in the world and Harry and Naruto both wanted to bask in its glory.

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Naruto walked down the hallway towards the Hokage's office. He had just finished delivering a stack of finished mission reports to the archives and was returning to see what other job the old man had for him today. But as he approached the office, he heard a commotion inside. Naruto quickened his pace a wrenched open the door to find out what was going on.

A small kid with a weird helmet/hat thingand a very long blue scarf was the source of the noise, yelling about defeating the old man to become the next Hokage. It looked like the Sandaime wasn't really paying attention as he gave the boy a cursory glance before returning to his paper work, mumbling something about how he would be free to play with the kid later. And then a jounin wearing a black bandana over his hair and black sunglasses came running in, proclaiming that "the great honourable grandson" shouldn't skip his lessons and that he should return with the jounin immediately.

Naruto just watched the chaos unfold, unsure what to do. After a few more minutes with nothing new happening, Naruto shrugged his shoulders and strode into the office straight to the Sandaime.

"Hey, Old Man! I finished the job you gave me. Is there anything else I can do?"

Sarutobi looked up from his paper work and thought over his answer. "I believe that is everything for today Naruto; tomorrow when this paperwork on my desk is finished, I'll get you to file them. Until then, here are your earnings from last week. See you tomorrow."

Naruto left with a smile and a wave. But he had only just left the building when his quest for Ichikaru's ramen was delayed.

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"Hey! You! Wait!" Konohamaru went running after the blond boy that had just left his grandfather's office. The six year old (turning seven in a few months, thank you very much) was sick of living in the Hokage tower. Ever since he could remember he'd spent most of his time in that tower with at least one jounin with him at all times. And whenever he left, three more would come too!

This year he would start at the academy, if he was allowed to go. The council already assigned a tutor for him, Ebisu, and he'd been taking lessons for over a year. But Konohamaru wanted to be with kids his own age, and attend the academy like everybody else. But when he complained about it, his jounin guards just shrugged their shoulders and said that they couldn't do anything about it unless the Hokage said otherwise since they took all their orders from him. So the young brunette knew what he had to do: he had to defeat his grandfather and be the next Hokage so he can decide for himself instead of doing whatever Ebisu tells him!

Unfortunately his master plan wasn't working so well. Anytime he challenged his grandfather, either the old man said he was busy or just played along as if it were a _game_. Just remembering it made a pout form on Konohamaru's face – why couldn't the old man take him seriously!

Today was like any other day; he went into his grandfather's office to challenge him and was blown off. But then the blond kid, Naruto he thought the old man had called him, had come in and his grandfather had stopped his paper work long enough to talk to the boy. Obviously the blond was someone important and powerful for his grandfather to take him seriously like that. So now Konohamaru was chasing after the blond so the boy could teach him to be important and powerful enough to beat his grandfather!

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Naruto turned around to see the same kid from the Hokage's office chasing after him. He stopped to let the kid catch up.

"What do you want? I'm kinda in a hurry." Naruto asked, thinking about all the delicious ramen that was waiting for him to eat it.

The kid straightened up from catching his breath and struck a dramatic pose. "I am Konohamaru, the village's greatest ninja and you will teach me to be even more powerful so I can defeat the Old Man and become the Godaime Hokage!"

Naruto just looked at the kid trying to decide if he was being serious or not. "Uhhh..."

"Come on! Let's go train! Show me some of your wicked moves!" Konohamaru demanded.

"Listen shrimp, I'd love to help you out and all, but I'm busy right now." Naruto said as his stomach growled. "How about we train later?"

Konohamaru scowled at the other boy; he wanted to train now! He had to get strong enough to defeat his grandfather!

"No, we're going to train now! I'm the Hokage's grandson and you have to do what I tell you!"

Naruto had enough of the kid and his demanding ways. "No, you listen here brat! If I say I don't want to train you right now, then I don't want to train you right now! Got it?" Naruto growled out as he stomped away.

Konohamaru watched to boy leave in anger. How dare he walk away from him! Didn't he know who he was and that it was an honour to train him?

"Well, if you don't train me, then I'll tell the old man that you hurt me and then you'll be thrown in jail for forever!"

Naruto spun around at the threat. "Oh yeah? How about I just the Old Man that I hurt you myself!" And with that Naruto grabbed the kid and smacked him upside the head.

Konohamaru looked at Naruto in shock. Never had anyone ever hit him. Or even yelled at him. Sure people have told him no before, but they always included platitudes. They were far too afraid and/or respectful of him being the only grandson of the Sandaime Hokage to dare and do anything like what this boy just did.

The tense moment was broken by the same jounin that had been chasing after Konohamaru in the Hokage's office.

"Honourable grandson! What are you doing! You know you're not supposed to be outside of the tower!"

Konohamaru snapped out of his stupor and turned towards his tutor. "I'm not going back to the tower! Naruto's going to teach me to be an awesome ninja, then I'm going to be strong enough to defeat the old man!"

Naruto's adamant protests about his apparent role as sensei died in his throat at the jounin's words.

"Him!" Ebisu said incredulously. "Honourable Grandson, get away from him! He is not someone you want to be with or learn from! He is nothing but trouble and a third rate ninja! If you truly wish to be Hokage, then I will teach you and lead on the road to greatness! He would only hinder your progress!"

The jounin looked over the boy in clear disapproval; he knew who Naruto really was. He was the demon brat, a sloppy ninja and a trouble maker. Ebisu's old teammate was an academy teacher and she told Ebisu all about the horror that was Uzumaki Naruto. No way could this _boy_ ever help Konohamaru. If anything, he would corrupt the great honourable grandson!

"Third rate ninja!" Naruto yelled angrily. "I'll show you who's a lousy ninja! C'mon kid, we'll show this bastard who's boss!"

Naruto grabbed the willing Konohamaru and ran down the street, where their small frames would have the advantage in getting through the crowds. Before Ebisu could jump to the nearest rooftop to track them from above, a familiar cough made him stop in his tracks. The jounin tutor turned around to see the Hokage himself look at him from beneath the wide-brimmed fire-shadow hat, eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Ebisu-san, have you seen my grandson. I rather hoped he would join me on a walk."

"H-hokage-sama..." Ebisu stuttered, embarrassed at having lost his charge, to the demon brat no less. "He had run off with the Uzumaki boy and I was just about to retrieve him."

"Don't bother," the Sandaime replied, leisurely strolling past the high-strung jounin, "Konohamaru spends too much time in the tower as it is. Like every other boy, he needs to go outside and play. I'm even happier that he found a trustworthy friend to play with. You can retrieve him later, when it is time for supper."

Ebisu stared shocked at the back of the Hokage as he went for his walk. He couldn't be serious! To allow his only grandson to be in the presence of, of...! Ebisu had heard rumours that the Sandaime was under the thrall of the beast, and he knew that he allowed the brat to work in the tower, but this was ridiculous! He was putting his own family in potential danger! The jounin himself didn't believe that the boy was the Kyuubi, but he had no doubts that the boy himself was trouble and that one day the demon fox may take over the weak-willed boy and wreak havoc in the village. It was best for the boy to be isolated, and if the beast does begin to get free, killed.

Ebisu strengthened his resolve. If the Hokage would not protect Konohamaru from the troubled blond boy, than he would! With that thought in mind, the jounin leapt to the rooftops looking for any sign of the two children.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Konohamaru had just arrived at the older boy's apartment. The blond left the younger boy to his own devices as he tore around his apartment, looking for the tools necessary to prove that stupid jounin wrong. Once Naruto deemed that they had the necessary materials, he grabbed the bewildered Konohamaru and they were off again. Soon that stuck-up jounin would learn not to mess with the ultimate prankster, Uzumaki Naruto!

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Ebisu ran through the trees, far more battered and bruised than he would like to admit. The jounin had originally assumed that his quest would be over in 10 minutes, tops; neither boy was an actual ninja yet – Konohamaru wasn't even an academy student – and from what he had heard, what minimal skills Uzumaki had were sloppy at best. Either way, it would be child's play to track down the two boys and whisk the honourable grandson away. At least, that's what Ebisu had originally believed.

Instead, he was led on a wild goose chase fraught with traps and pitfalls. He would never have dreamed that the demon-carrier would have been able to plan such intricate escape routes and decoys, not to mention the traps (granted, most of them were easily avoided and most of the one's Ebisu did fall for could have been avoided had he not underestimated the children). They couldn't have had that much of a head-start! Finally his resilience paid off, as he saw the oblivious boys up ahead in a clearing of an empty training ground. Before swooping down on them, he decided to eavesdrop and see what they were up too. Maybe use any trap they thought of setting against them, to teach them a lesson about challenging a jounin. (And that was the only reason for not confronting them straight away. It wasn't like he needed the rest so he could catch his breath or anything. Not at all.)

What Ebisu did hear surprised him, and made him rethink his opinion on Uzumaki Naruto.

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Konohamaru was psyched. Naruto was definitely someone who could teach him to beat the Old Man! He reminisced of the happenings of the past few hours, how they ran to and fro and laid all those awesome traps. The best one was the one on the roof by the bath houses – the original plan was to get the jounin angered, frustrated and susceptible to their traps (which they were doing all day – how else would they gain the upper hand on a jounin?), then when Ebisu charged to grab Konohamaru from Naruto's side (dodging around the fake traps that Naruto had planted), he would step in the cleverly hidden rope trap, which would tighten around his feet and dump him into the nearby water of the bath house. Unfortunately (for Ebisu), it didn't quite work out the way they had planned; it did ensnare the jounin and deposit him in the water – but on the females side of the bath house. Naruto and Konohamaru watched in shock as the jounin fainted from blood loss à la nosebleed after taking in his surroundings. And once he woke up, it was to the sight of a dozen very angry women, most of which were kunoichis. Needless to say that after that last trap, the jounin wasn't in the right state physically to continue his chase after the two boys.

So after laying a few more surprises and leaving some fake trails, Naruto brought them in this clearing sothey could celebrate a job well done and relax.

"That was so awesome! You're the best boss! I can't wait to learn all those cool traps and finally beat the Old Man and be the next Hokage!"

"Dream on squirt!" Naruto responded good-naturedly. "_I'm_ going to be the next Hokage. You'll have to beat me to get that title."

Konohamaru looked to Naruto in mild surprise. "But I have to be the Hokage! Or else I'll be trapped in the tower forever and never go to the academy and never be able to do anything I want!"

Naruto looked at the younger boy in disapproval. "Is that the only reason you want to be Hokage?" Konohamaru just nodded. "Well that's not good enough." Naruto stated flatly.

"What! Why not?"

"To be Hokage," Naruto explained, sounding far older and more mature than usual. "is to be responsible for the whole village. You have to be the greatest of all ninjas and you have to prove yourself so that everyone believes in you. Everybody listens to and respects the Hokage because he's the strongest ninja in the village and it's his job to protect the village and everybody in it.So you should only be Hokage so you can help Konoha, not so you can do whatever you want. And even then, you can't be the Hokage yet! It takes really hard work and years of being a ninja to get so smart and strong to be a Kage. You have to be ready for a lot of sweat and tears while you're learning to be a great ninja, 'cause there's no shortcuts or easy ways to become Hokage other than hard work and a lot of training."

Konohamaru was silent as he processed Naruto's words, and Ebisu, listening hidden up above, felt surprise and regret that the blond was everything he didn't think he'd be. It seemed that the Sandaime was right about the boy; he was trustworthy and a good companion for Konohamaru. And with that mentality, he could one day be a great Hokage. Ebisu suddenly found that he had a lot to think about; maybe he will let the boys be until it was time to retrieve Konohamaru for supper, and just keep a perimeter watch. The honourable grandson was in good hands.

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Harry looked around the Platform 9¾ with endless nerves. This was it; he was leaving the Durlsey's for 10 months and was going to learn magic. Idly he wondered how this huge platform could be hidden in one little column – it must be like those storage scrolls Naruto always wanted to get, which would hold a lot of things in subspace or something. He would have to find out later.

During his talk with McGonagall after explaining what really happened to his parents and why he was famous, she had told him all about how to get to Hogwarts and when the train leaves – she even included different ways to get to the platform 9¾ of King's Cross station. Knowing that his relatives would refuse to drive him to London – and not wanting to discourage the truce of staying as far away from each other as possible – Harry double checked he had all his supplies packed in his trunk and made sure he had the extra money from the shopping trip in his pocket, and walked outside alone early September 1st ready to start school. McGonagall had told him about the Knight Bus –which operated as a mix between a taxi and bus – and how to summon it. She assured him that the spell used was one of the few under-aged magic-users were allowed to use outside of school.

After a fast and bumpy ride, Harry found himself at King's Cross station. He loaded his cart on a trolley and made his way to the third column between the platforms nine and ten – according to McGonagall there was an illusion over the gateway which would allow him to enter and an additional muggle repelling spell to make sure the oblivious non-magical people didn't go through accidently – and again Harry wondered how they were able to target the spell for only non-magical people.

Harry left his luggage on the platform while he climbed on looking for an empty compartment – no way was he going to drag his luggage up and down the train. Once he found a compartment, he left his coat there and went back for his trunk. But before he was able to get off the train, he bumped into a familiar face.

"Harry! I'm so glad I found you! I was here since nine in the morning and hadn't seen you at all. Did you just get here? Here, I'll show you where I'm sitting." And not even giving Harry a chance to reply, Hermione dragged Harry over to a pretty full compartment by the front of the train. Even thought there was enough luggage for at least seven people, there was currently only one boy sitting there.

"Harry, this is Neville Longbottom. I just met him; he's a first year too, but he comes from a magical family. I'd invite you to sit with us, but somefourth years next door stored their luggage here so it's pretty full."

"Nice to meet you Neville, I'm Harry." Harry suddenly realized that he had never really had friends before, and looking at these two he wanted to get to know them. "If you guys want somewhere else to sit, I found an empty compartment by the back of the train. My coat is there and I was just about to get by trunk when I bumped into you Hermione." Harry offered.

"Thanks Harry, I think we'll join you there. By the way, after what happened in Diagon Alley, I looked into what happened to your parents; did you know you're mentioned in'_The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts'_, '_A History of Magic'_ and '_Modern Magical History'_?" At Harry's bewildered look Hermione explained. "I begged my parents to go back to Diagon Alley for more books; I wanted to make sure I was prepared for school!"

"Well, I know that I was in '_Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century'_, and let me tell you, it's really weird reading about your life like it's some sort of fairytale or legend. And McGonagall told me all about what happened to my parents after she dropped me off at the Dursley's. Don't ask me what happened though; I don't remember it. I don't even know how these authors know what happened."

"B-but," Neville interrupted, looking very surprised "what do you mean about Professor McGonagall told you, and you had to read about it? Didn't you know what happened! Everyone in the wizard world knows who you are and what you did!"

"Well, I grew up in the muggle world, how was I supposed to know about it?" Harry said a little defensively, not liking being reminded of the fact that he didn't know as much as he should, about himself no less.

"Don't worry Neville," Hermione said. "I'll tell you the story as we move our stuff to the other compartment; I was just as surprised as you are."

Harry walked back onto the platform towards his trunk as Hermione told Neville about their eventful trip to Diagon Alley for their school supplies. The platform was far more crowded now than when he had originally arrived – it was getting close to the time for the train to leave and parents were busy hugging their children goodbye with warnings and advice to be well-behaved and get good grades. Harry spotted his trunk and wheeled as close as possible towards the compartment he had already claimed before unloading it from the trolley and dragging it to the train. He was in the middle of dragging it up the stairs when two identical red-heads grabbed the other end of the trunk and helped him bring it to the still unoccupied compartment.

"Thanks a lot guys." Harry said gratefully.

"No problem – "

" – we live to serve – "

" – should you ever be in need of assistance, – "

" – be sure to call out for the dynamic duo: - "

" - Fred – "

" – and George, - "

"Weasley!"

Harry looked back and forth at the brothers in amusement. These two reminded him strongly of Naruto. They had that look in their eye that screamed 'prankster!' and Harry was sure that they were probably just as much trouble as his honorary brother. Thank God that Naruto didn't have a twin or couldn't clone himself; Harry wasn't sure if Konoha would be able to contain all the mayhem!

"Pleasure to meet you Fred and George, I'm Harry – "

"Harry Potter!"

'It's amazing how easy it is to forget the fact that you're insanely famous' Harry thought.

"Now I recognize you; you're picture was all over the Daily Prophet all summer."

Before Harry could continue with the conversation with the Weasley twins, they were interrupted by the arrival of Hermione and Neville. Fred and George then took their leave, saying that they had to say goodbye to their mother and that they already had a compartment to sit in, leaving the three first-year students to settle in for the long ride.

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"Abbott, Hannah!"

Harry, along with the rest of the first year students were standing at the front of the Great Hall, between the teachers' table and the four house tables. Beside him on one side was Neville Longbottom and on the other was Ron Weasley; Fred and George's younger brother who had joined him, Neville and Hermione in their compartment.

The seven-hour train ride was rather uneventful (except for when they arrived at the Hogsmead station; apparently the press wasn't through with Harry and had reporters and photographers at the ready. Thank goodness that Hagrid was there to collect the first years and chase them all off) and the four soon to be Hogwarts students talked about anything and everything (though Harry and Neville were mostly quiet). As Harry already knew, Hermione was a muggle-born bookworm who was prone to babbling when she was excited and bossiness when she felt she was right. Ron Weasley, though laidback to the point of being lazy, had a short temper and an inferiority complex from having five older brothers who were all popular and successful. Unfortunately Ron's and Hermione's personality's clashed and those two spent nearly the entire trip arguing (when they weren't too busy ignoring each other) – Hermione's bossiness rubbed Ron the wrong way and combined with the girl's superior knowledge despite being a muggle-born (making Ron's inferiority complex rear its ugly head) made the red-head rather adverse to becoming Hermione's friend. Sick of the tall pre-teen's bad mood and short temper, and not the least bit sorry for not being too lazy to look up information compared to _some_ people, Hermione didn't like Ron either.

It got to the point where Harry had to make an escape or else go mad from the tension in the air. So when Neville cried out distressed upon realizing his toad Trevor was nowhere to be found, Harry jumped at the opportunity to go looking for it with the shy boy.

Neville was a slightly chubby blond boy who seemed painfully shy (and somewhat in awe of Harry), and Harry couldn't help but feel kind of protective over him. He was a little confused as to why that was – this boy was nothing like his energetic upbeat little brother. But Harry could see it in Neville's eyes and the way he held himself that it wasn't normal shyness; he had experienced great sadness and was feeling a great weight on his shoulders. Maybe this is what either he or Naruto would have been like if they hadn't had each other to depend on; downtrodden and fearful. Harry vowed to get to know this boy better and help him if he could.

Once they returned, with Trevor in tow, it wasn't long before they met a few other first years; Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. Harry wasn't one to make enemies – he was usually a quiet boy who stuck with himself. But when Draco started talking, Harry couldn't help but dislike the blond. First of all, Draco was obviously a rich snob with an unreal perspective of his own worth and who went crying to Mommy and Daddy for the littlest thing. Harry was strongly reminded of his cousin Dudley, even though Draco looked nothing like his cousin (they didn't even have the same shade of blond hair) and could already tell they weren't going to get along. Just like Dudley, this boy probably fancied himself the king of the playground,but unfortunately for himHarry never bowed to anyone. As if to prove how much Harry wasn't going to like him, Draco made the mistake of being a bully to try and impress the scarred boy.

One of the things Harry hated most of all was bullies. Not towards himself personally;Harry only had to deal with Dudley and considering how slow and lazy the blond and his friends were (and their pitiful attempts at insults), that was more of a joke than anything. But Harry had always known that Naruto was bullied. Naruto didn't like admitting it to Harry, and only confessed about occasions that really bugged him and hurt him. So when Draco made fun of Hermione for having 'lesser blood' (which reminded Harry of this one time when Naruto was upset when an elder Hyuuga called Naruto trash not worthy of breathing the same air as the noble Hyuuga Hinata whohad beenwilling to play with the boy) and then made fun of Ron for being poor (many of Naruto's classmates had teased the blond for not having the proper materials for class and not being able to afford better food for lunch) and finally Neville for being weak (of all the things that bothered his little brother, it was when people thought him insignificant and laughed at his dream to be the Hokage that upset Naruto the most. Harry knew differently though – his little brother was the strongest person he knew), well Draco had succeeded in pissing Harry off. He had punched the little snot in the stomach, easily taking care of Vincent's and Gregory's retaliation attempts, and had not so kindly told the blond that if he wanted to be friends, he'd have to pull his head out of his arse first.

Even now, Draco was keeping a great distance from Harry down the line of first-years and would shoot the brunette looks full of wariness and spite. And speaking of spiteful looks directed at him, Draco's was nothing compared to that hooked-nosed teacher's...

"Granger, Hermione!"

The bushy-haired brunette ran towards the stool and eagerly put on the tattered hat. Harry wasn't sure what he felt about the sorting – he certainly didn't care about it the way his peers did. He could see the ups and downs for each house and it didn't really matter to him where he ended up; though he was rather adverse to Slytherin since it was hardly being sly and cunning if you went into the house renown for it. Harry might as well wear a neon sign saying he was up to something. No, Slytherin wouldn't do. The best place for him was probably Hufflepuff – everyone seemed to think it was the house of pushovers despite being known as loyal and hardworking. With that reputation everyone would likely pass him off as nothing special, which was a good thing since he was used to being left to his own devices. But then again, he was already so famous and being in an unexpected house wouldn't change that. It might even draw more attention to himself from people wondering why he was sorted there instead of Gryffindor where everyone seemed to think he'd go despite never having met him before.

Harry's musings were cut short as Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor. Odd, Harry would have pegged her as a Ravenclaw. Maybe you got to choose where you went, regardless of whether you have the traits needed – how else did Crabbe and Goyle who were about as cunning and sneaky as Hagrid (which was of course not at all) get into Slytherin?

Finally it was Harry's turn and as he sat down on the stool, McGonagall placed the gigantic talking hat on his head.

'Most interesting...I have never heard of chakra before. And your connection to Naruto is also something I have never heard of...'

'Hey!' Harry interjected 'Aren't you supposed to be sorting me, not going through my personal memories?'

'My apologies Mr. Potter,' the hat replied 'but how else do you think I can find out what House a child belongs in if I don't, ah, _familiarize_ myself with them?'

Harry frowned at that, but realistically knew there was nothing he could do about it. 'Well, as long as you don't tell anyone about what you see.'

'Of course,' the hat said, sounding a little offended 'I would never betray the trust of a Hogwarts student! Now, where to put you? You'd do well in Slytherin, as you already know. But I can understand your argument and I won't put you there, even if your reasoning just proves how much of a Slytherin you are. Ravenclaw is also a distinct possibility, but no. You don't seek knowledge for the sake of knowledge, more so you can arm yourself and have a better understanding of the world around you. You are more than loyal and hardworking enough to go to Hufflepuff, but you are correct again, that will only draw more attention to yourself. And Gryffindor, you are chivalrous and brave enough to go there too, even if they aren't your dominant traits. Hmmm...where to put you?'

Harry thought about his choices. Of the four Houses, he thought that he'd rather be in Gryffindor. It's probably where he'd be harassed the least and where Neville and Hermione where. Chances are that Ron would end up there too.

'Very well, if that's how you feel. It'd better be – '

"Gryffindor!" the hat yelled out.

The table to the very left erupted in cheers as Harry made his way over to Hermione and Neville. Harry could easily tell that he got the loudest applause from everyone, and even now the Weasley twins were performing a song and dance, yelling out "We got Potter! We got Potter!" If this is how everyone reacted when he got into a house everyone _knew_ he'd be sorted into, Harry briefly wondered how they would have reacted if he let the hat sort him into a different one. Harry suppressed a shudder at the thought and was glad that he had the forethought to pick somewhere where he'd get the least attention.

About fifteen minutes later and the sorting ceremony was finally over – Ron was sorted into Gryffindor just as Harry figured he would be. After a quick speech from the Headmaster, the food magically appeared on the tables (another thing Harry would have to look into) and everyone gratefully dug in. Harry was somewhat distracted though by the Headmaster's warning about facing certain death on the third-floor corridor. As far as Harry could tell, wizards were like civilians with chakra skills and used their magic for convenience rather than fighting. While he knew that there were dangers (obviously since his own parents were killed by a dark lord and he knew that there would be dangerous creatures like dragons), Harry assumed that on the whole, the wizarding world wasn't any more dangerous than the muggle one. Either way, they were nothing at all like ninja's who's main purpose was to fight. But then why would they keep something dangerous and potentially fatal in a school? It didn't make sense.

After what seemed like no time, Harry and his fellow Gryffindor first year peers followed yet another brother of Ron's towards their dorms. The talking animated paintings were very odd in Harry's opinion, but he again made a mental note to look into how they did that. After meeting the Fat Lady and learning the password, everyone went straight to bed, too tired from the long day to stay up any longer. And as for Harry, though he wasn't that tired he knew that Naruto would be waiting to find out what he had learned so far.

Posted: March 20th, 2008

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A/N: I know that Naruto used to live with Konohamaru for a while when he was a kid, but Naruto was only 5 and Konohamaru was only 2. They don't really remember each other. And I know that Konohamaru is brattier here than in the canon, but he's only six right now as opposed to eight. And he hasn't gone to the academy yet, which no doubt will humble him since he'll be with a whole bunch of kids his own age who won't bow to his every whim.

And to those that wanted me to actually write out the McGonagall/Dursley scene; I don't think I'd really do it justice. I'm pretty sure that leaving it to your imagination is the best thing I can do.

As for the sorting; I had considered putting Harry in Hufflepuff, since I think his loyalty and dedication is a bigger part of his personality than his courage and valour (that's not to say he's not brave or anything). But then I realized that I had no intention of Harry making close friends with the other Hufflepuffs and wanted to keep the same friends as canon; something that would be possible but very unlikely while being a Hufflepuff. So I basically only made Harry a Gryffindor because it's easier on me – his house won't have any effect on how he acts or thinks anyway (so no, he isn't going to hate all Slytherins. He just hates Draco because he's a bully, not because of his house. After all, Harry is being trained via Naruto on how to be a ninja, so cunning and slyness are definitely skills he has and can appreciate, not to mention his beloved little brother is certainly ambitious enough to get into Slytherin for his dream of being Hokage).

And I wasn't happy with the part on the train – I think Harry came off as too confident and in charge. He definitely is more confident and independent than in the books, but he's still rather reserved and wary of others, not to mention both eager and unsure in the making friends department. So he's going to be friends with Neville, Hermione and Ron but he won't be as close to them as he is in the books - this Harry is more of a loner and he doesn't feel the need to be that close with them since he already has Naruto. 

Next chapter: start of the new school year


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Ugh...I forgot how long it has been since I've read/watched HP and the philosopher's stone. I was trying to remember when Harry had his first flying lesson and some other scenes, and it took a while. And good news! I just got a beta so now the story should flow more and have less mistakes!

* * *

Harry and Naruto were lying on their backs on the top of a hill, the sun was shining but it wasn't too bright and the sky was a clear blue that rivalled Naruto's eyes. The perfect weather or the relaxed pose of the boys wasn't odd – such a thing was common in the dreamscape – but the leaves on their foreheads was odd. They had been practising some wandless magic, nothing too hard just the lumos spell – a spell designed to create light. Harry had already mastered this spell and many others during the summer break with his wand (even if he couldn't use magic while awake, he had read most of the books he had bought in Diagon Alley and had practised many spells while in the dreamscape). But when he tried to pass his knowledge onto Naruto, they realized an important fact; Naruto didn't have a wand.

Harry had of course lent his little brother his own dreamscape wand, but it didn't really work – whether it was because the wand wasn't well suited to Naruto or maybe the fact that Naruto just had a hard time doing magic, or a mix of both, they didn't know. So once Harry mastered a spell with a wand, he and Naruto would also try it wandlessly (Harry might technically be a wizard, but he was a ninja first and one of the first things he was taught – or rather Naruto was taught and then told Harry – was to never depend on one weapon. The fact that wizards depended so completely on wands seemed foolish to both Harry and Naruto).

Unfortunately neither boy had successfully accomplished it. Even things Harry _knows_ he can do it (since he did before as accidental magic) like teleporting, changing someone's hair colour or unlocking a door, neither boy could reproduce. And when Harry remembered Ollivander's words about how young children could perform wandless magic because they're able to completely focus on what they want to happen, it became that much harder. Harry suddenly realized how many different thoughts he had in his head, and when trying to dismiss them to focus on his goal, those other thoughts became that much stronger.

Trying to stop their minds from wandering, and hopefully get enough concentration and focus to do wandless magic, the boys had resorted to meditation. But like before, the more they tried not to think of anything, the more it didn't work. So now they were trying an exercise that Iruka-sensei had taught Naruto – they were trying to focus their magic/chakra to the leaf on their foreheads, and nothing but the leaf. They had been at it for a while, and Harry believes that they had both made progress. But now, a few hours later, Naruto was asleep and Harry allowed his mind to wonder.

The first week of school wasn't even finished, but Harry was enjoying himself. He was sort of friends with Ron, Hermione, and Neville, but still wasn't very close with any of them – Ron was all right until he remembered who Harry was, then he'd be more withdrawn and his eyes would be tinged with a mix of awe and jealousy. Neville was still as shy and self-conscious as ever, making it hard to form a strong bond, and Hermione had started retreating into herself and taking refuge in the library when it became clear that the other students thought she was a bossy know-it-all, including Ron even if he hadn't said anything out right yet.

His classes were rather interesting, but they raised a lot of questions in Harry's mind. Like how Professor McGonagall had transfigured her desk into a boar and then back again. How is she even able to physically change one thing into another (and not just use an illusion), let alone transforming something dead into something living? And when she changed it back into a desk, didn't she technically kill the boar? Either way, Harry had spent a lot of time in the library trying to find answers to his endless questions. Unfortunately, there were so many interesting books that Harry often distracted himself – for example, while searching for the reason that the paintings move and talk in the Wizarding world, he found himself leafing through a book on various magical creatures. He supposed he should really finish reading all his textbooks before looking for more books to read, but he would have to read his textbooks eventually anyway, and this was less boring.

His teachers didn't seem too bad either, well except for Quirrel, who seemed more like a joke than a professor. They weren't really doing anything in that class (besides, anything that Quirrel _did _teach was hard to understand due to the teacher's constant stutter and was deemed useless by most since they felt that someone who's afraid of his own shadow couldn't possibly know what he's talking about), Harry always got a headache when in Quirrel's presence and there was a weird garlicky smell eminating from the teacher's turban (apparently to ward of vampires according to the student grapevine). He still hadn't been taught by Professor Snape, the potions professor and the teacher who had glared at him during the sorting ceremony, and Harry wasn't sure he wanted to be taught by Snape considering all the things the older students said about him. But even if he turned out to be as big of a jerk as the Weasley twins said he was, well at least Harry had four good teachers. Unlike Naruto, who is stuck with one bad sensei.

Like the year before, Iruka wasn't allowed to teach Naruto's class. And after Hideto vowed never to work with anyone under the age of 16 ever again, it was another teacher who was brought in. Running out of options, they hired Mitani Tori, a twenty-six year old chunnin. She had good class control, she knew what she was talking about and she could present the material in a way that everyone understood. She even had experience teaching – she made extra money tutoring academy students who couldn't go to their parents for help (i.e. civilian students) and it was the glowing praise from her employers (students and parents alike) that made the council resort to hiring her, despite the fact that she wasn't a qualified teacher. She probably would have been a magnificent teacher, if she was dealing with any other class, that is.

Tori-sensei was from a civilian family, and like many civilian children she dreamed of ditching her family's boring business and become a world-renown ninja; having adventures and being a hero. When she started in the academy it was near the end of the Konoha/Iwa war. There had been around twenty students, two of which came from clans. By the time she attended the academy full time, the war was over and they had altered the curriculum to cover more classroom work and less practical skills, and stopped pushing the students to graduate early. By then there had only been seven students left in her class, the rest quitting either because they couldn't mould chakra, because they thought it was too dangerous, or they couldn't handle the pressures of a shinobi life. By the time they reached the genin exam, there were only four students left – Hyuuga Miya, a branch member from the powerful Hyuuga Clan, Kurama Zinan, a member of the genjutsu specialist Kurama clan, her best friend Watanabe Ogano and herself. On top of the stress and effort of becoming a ninja, her and Ogano had to deal with their arrogant classmates who were able to receive advice and training from their parents and relatives, and who got the advantages of special family bloodline limits and/or techniques. When the time came to make a genin team, Ogano, being the last of the class, was left out while Tori was teamed up with Miya and Zinan.

The next few years were torture. She had to put up with her insufferable teammates and their ass-licking sensei who catered to and always pampered Miya and to a lesser extent Zinan, hoping to increase his own standing among the clans. Ogano meanwhile still hadn't found a team of his own (he was put on a few squads, but he never passed the jounin's test). He eventually quit being a ninja and helped his parents run their Laundromat. But despite the separate directions their lives took, Tori and Ogano remained close and Ogano was always willing to listen to Tori rant and complain about her teammates.

Then the day that the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked. While Tori remembered the panic and chaos, and the pure power and size of the fox, it was nothing to how she felt after the attack, when she found Ogano's body crushed beneath some rubble. Tori couldn't help but remember how most of the clans survived, and that their non-ninja members were among the first to be evacuated. And she couldn't help but think that if Ogano had been an active ninja, then maybe he would have had the skills necessary to get out of the collapsing building. That if Konoha wasn't so biased towards the clans, then maybe Ogano would have survived.

Ever since then, her general dislike of the clans had turned into hate. This coupled with her hate for Naruto, for taking away Ogano from her (even though she rationally knew the boy wasn't the Kyuubi, she couldn't stop herself from blaming him and hating him), and she was the worst person to be teaching Naruto's class, of whom half the students were clan members, and of those, the majority were clan heirs.

Needless to say, Naruto spent most of his fourth year at the academy skipping with Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji.

* * *

Harry walked into the Great Hall accompanied by the other first year Gryffindors, with a sixth year prefect acting as their guide. Even if it had almost been a full week since they had come to Hogwarts, it was easy to get lost so they liked to stick together and follow someone older to the Great Hall. But once they got there, they were in for a surprise.

It was pandemonium. The teachers were obviously flustered and panicked, clustered together and whispering. McGonagall kept shooting Harry anxious looks, as if to make sure that he was still there and all right. Dumbledore was nowhere to be found. And the students were even worse – there weren't even bothering to keep their voices down as they went up and down the tables talking and arguing, most clutching newspapers.

"Is it always like this?" asked a shocked and slightly disapproving Hermione to the sixth year prefect. Even if the other mornings have been far more orderly and calm, it was no guarantee that they were the norm. It was the first week of school after all. Or maybe the students just got crazy on Fridays.

"No." He sounded shocked and confused as to why there was a big commotion. "It's never been like this. Obviously something big has happened."

They made their way to the Gryffindor table hoping to find out what was going on. Harry walked over with trepidation – he didn't miss the fact that everyone was fighting over the newspapers and knew that the source of the commotion could be found there. As much as he wanted to know what was going on, he remembered his first morning here when the Weasley twins showed him the front page article and accompanying picture, proclaiming how cute and grown up he was. Apparently the reporters that had been waiting to ambush him at the Hogsmead station got a decent picture and then wrote a two-page article about his arrival at Hogwarts and speculations about his homelife, skills, and future. What was worse was the fact that every day since then, the paper wrote at least one article on the green-eyed boy. The only good thing that came out of it was the fact that Ron was teased just as much by his twin brothers since he, Hermione, and Neville were in the picture along with Harry.

Harry still gets people coming up to him with that picture cut out asking him to autograph it. At first he refused, but after Naruto started bugging him and told him to loosen up, Harry now signs – but only on the condition that the other three in the picture sign it too. Fred and George even have Trevor's (Neville's toad) and Scabbers' (Ron's rat) signatures (since both animals had been caught on film with their owners) – well, they have their foot prints inked on the picture at any rate.

Ready to make a quick retreat in case it was about him again, Harry followed his friends to the Gryffindor table to find out what the newspaper said.

"Oi! So what's the big deal? Why's everyone going nuts?" Ron asked his older brothers.

"You'll never believe it!" Lee Jordan, the twins' friend answered. "Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban!"

Everyone but Hermione, Harry, Dean and Lavender gasped in fright. Harry took advantage of the quick pause to take a quick look at the newspaper. As Lee had said, there was a large headline announcing Sirius Black's escape, and further down was a large picture of a man who had definitely seen better days – his skin was pale and drawn, he was unnaturally skinny as though he'd been starved, his hair was a matted and tangled mess, and the look in his eyes wasn't entirely sane.

"Who's Sirius Black?" Harry asked. Judging by the way the older boy said the name, it was someone to be very afraid of.

"Blimey, I forgot you grew up with muggles." George said "Sirius Black was said to be You-Know-Who's right hand man. They say he killed thirteen people with a single spell. He spent the last ten years in Azkaban prison – and _no one_ has ever escaped Azkaban before. Well, before now that is."

"Why hasn't anyone been able to escape before now?" Hermione asked.

"Well besides it being an impenetrable fortress in the middle of the ocean," Fred explained, "it's guarded by Dementors. They're among the worst creatures in the world, if not the very worst. They suck out all your happiness until you're so miserable that you lose the will to live. They can even suck out your soul. Our Dad went to Azkaban once for Ministry business, and when he came back he was as white as a sheet and shaking. It took hours before he got back to normal. He said that most people go crazy and die within a year there."

'Voldemort's right hand man escaped prison... well, that explained McGonagall's nervousness.' Harry thought. After seeing everybody's reaction to him and reading about himself in a book, Harry was able to understand that to the Wizarding world he was a symbol of hope and power against the dark. Therefore it would be rather obvious that one of the first people this Sirius Black person would target would be himself – whether it was to get revenge for apparently defeating his master or to make a bigger name for himself and replace Voldemort, Harry wasn't sure. But if he was able to survive, which sounded like hell on earth, and judging by the way everyone spoke of the man, Harry knew that he would have to stay alert and watch his back.

Just then the Headmaster entered the Great Hall. He did not seem happy.

"Settle down everyone. I have an important announcement."

The students quieted down and turned their attention to the Headmaster, hoping to be reassured with some good news.

"As you are no doubt all aware, the criminal Sirius Black has escaped. Therefore, there will be some changes to the way we run things. The Minister of Magic has insisted that Hogwarts play host to some guards to ensure the safety of you students. They will patrol the borders of the school. Unfortunately it will not be done by aurors, but by dementors. For those of you who don't know, dementors are dark creatures who feed off the emotions of others. They do not recognize friend from foe, or student from criminal. They will not hear excuses or pleas. Do not, for any reason, try to sneak out past them or even go near them. If you do, you will surely suffer a fate worse than death. Thank you."

Harry looked at the Headmaster incredulously as the rest of the students nervously went back to eating breakfast. First he warns students about the third-floor corridor in the welcoming speech, which if entered will result in a painful bloody death, and then he warns about these creatures patrolling the school borders, which will result in a fate _worse _than death. What kind of school were they running here?! And Harry had thought being a ninja was dangerous – but it still didn't answer why, if things were so dangerous in the Wizarding world, people were so lax as to be out of shape and waste magic on frivolous things, like charming a knut to be shiny (and yes, he came across such a useless spell)? And if it isn't that dangerous, then why are they gathering all the dangerous things and putting them in a _school_? They went from one extreme to the other so quickly it made Harry's head spin.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by an owl dropping a note in front of him. Curious to see who would send him a note and why, Harry opened it to find an invitation to have tea with Hagrid that afternoon to make up for leaving him with McGonagall in Diagon Alley. Hagrid had seemed like a nice person and Harry wouldn't mind getting to know the large man better, so Harry decided to go. Ron, who had looked over his shoulder to find out what the note was about, invited himself along. Not to be out done, Hermione had invited herself and Neville along with them. Harry just sighed and gathered his stuff for their first potions class. 'What was that word that Naruto said his friend always uses...' Harry thought to himself as Ron and Hermione bickered about the proper way to address a teacher, head of Slytherin House or not, 'ah yes, troublesome...'

* * *

"Professor Snape's a Hogwarts professor; he wouldn't show favouritism."

It was Friday afternoon, and Harry, Neville, Hermione and Ron were at Hagrid's hut. The giant man had graciously invited them all in and they had talked about their first week of school. The argument started when they got around to talking about their potions class.

It didn't take Snape long to show that he was no fan of Harry's – he started quizzing Harry on the course knowledge right off the bat. Though Harry didn't get all the questions right, he did get most of them. Snape took points for the ones he got wrong and didn't acknowledge the ones he got right. But when he gave Slytherins points for getting the correct answers and didn't deduct points for any wrong answers given, Harry called him on it. That led to a rant about how Harry was an attention seeking brat, and how unlike the other teachers Snape was not going to hold Harry's hand and congratulate him on the littlest things, like answering a question so simple a five year old would know the answer. Obviously assuming that Harry would be cowed after his scathing remarks, Snape was surprised when Harry calmly countered his argument saying that it was fine if he felt that he had to baby the Slytherins, since Sanpe gave them points for answering correctly, and that he appreciated the fact that Snape obviously and correctly felt that the Gryffindors were above such treatment, but that gave the teacher no reason to not dole out equal punishments for wrong answers.

On that note, Harry was the first student that earned detention that year. Fred and George Weasley were very jealous and swore that they'd get three detentions each by Monday. They had a reputation to uphold after all and no upstart first-year will cause more trouble than them, boy-who-lived or not!

The practical part of the potions lesson went a bit better; Hermione and Neville produced a perfect potion and Harry's and Ron's potion, though not perfect, was decent and not one of the worst ones. But Harry had no doubt that he would get a very low mark anyway.

"How can you say that about the greasy git? He was being completely unfair!" Ron countered. "He was picking on Harry! He obviously really hates Gryffindors!"

"Now, don' be saying things like tha'!" Hagrid reprimanded Ron. "Professor Snape may not be the nicest of people, but that's no reason to not show him the proper respect. He wouldn't pick on a student. An' besides, there's no reason why he'd hate Harry. He was probably in a bad mood or som'ing." The groundskeeper concluded, fidgeting and refusing to look anyone in the eye.

Harry looked at Hagrid in askance; no matter what Hagrid said, it was clear that Snape had a vendetta against the messy-haired pre-teen. Before Harry had just thought that Snape hated celebrities in general, but judging on Hagrid's behaviour, Harry could tell that for whatever reason Snape's hate of his was somehow personal. Harry was reminded of Naruto and the hate that almost all the adults in his world seemed to share of the blond - there had to be a reason for Snape and Naruto's senseis to act the way they do. There had to be more to the story and Harry was determined to find out what it was. It would have been better for Hagrid to not say anything, or at least come up with a reasonable excuse as to why Snape acted the way he did; Hagrid was the worst liar Harry'd ever seen, there was no way anyone would believe him.

"See? You heard what Hagrid said; Professor Snape was just in a bad mood. You should still treat him with respect."

Harry stared at Hermione in shock; he has got to give that a girl a wake-up call. How can she be so naive and devoted to adults and authority figures? And how was she possibly fooled by Hagrid's lie?

Ron just spluttered in disbelief. While Harry agreed with Ron, he didn't say anything about it. A cut out newspaper clipping had caught his eye instead.

"Why would someone go through all that effort to break into a bank and not take anything?" Harry asked aloud, referring to the article which proclaimed that despite the fact that Gringotts bank was breached, nothing was stolen.

Ron and Hermione stopped their argument in order to read the article, as Neville started talking.

"I-I remember that story; my Gran was really upset about it since Gringotts is supposed to be impossible to steal from. She had gone the next day and threatened to remove the Longbottom account if she noticed anything from our vault taken or even touched. I-I think before that break in, no one else has been able to do it and no one has ever stolen anything from Gringotts ever."

"Hey, it happened on your birthday Harry." Hermione said.

"Yeah, and it says that the vault was emptied earlier that week. Lucky huh?" Ron stated.

Harry's attention however, was on Hagrid's shifting frame. The man was obviously uncomfortable with this topic of conversation.

"I wonder what was in the vault – I bet it was worth a fortune!" Ron exclaimed.

"I wonder where they put it." Neville murmured. When he noticed he had gained everyone's attention, he blushed but continued. "W-well, Gringotts is supposed to be the safest place in the world. If whoever wanted it was able to find out what vault it was in and was able to break in to get it, they probably know who owns whatever it is and can easily steal it from their house."

While everyone thought over what Neville had said, Harry was thinking about a phrase Neville used that sounded very familiar.

"Gringotts is the safest place on earth..." Harry murmured "...except for Hogwarts. Wasn't that what you told me when we had first entered Gringotts Hagrid?"

Hermione's eyes lit up at the memory. "Oh yeah, I remember that. You did say that, Hagrid, and then McGonagall reprimanded you, saying that there was a big difference between children and gold."

Hagrid was looking more and more ill at ease the longer the conversation wore on. And Harry was pretty sure he knew why.

"Too bad we had to split up so you could do the Hogwarts business at the bank, Hagrid." Harry commented, a little too innocently "But I have a question; why did you keep that article? It has to be over a month old at least." Harry asked.

"Uh, no reason. I just didn' get around to throwing it out yet is all. I should probably do that now before I forget." Hagrid replied nervously.

"I don't think so," Hermione continued, seeing where Harry was going with this, "if you had just forgotten to throw out the newspaper, the whole newspaper would have been lying around, or at least a few more articles. Instead you only have the one article which is neatly cut out."

Hagrid was well on his way to becoming panicked. His hands were shaking, his eyes were shifting back and forth, as though looking for an escape from the conversation, and he was sweating. Harry went in for the kill.

"Don't worry Hagrid, it's a good thing you got to it in time. I bet Professor Dumbledore was happy that it wasn't stolen."

"O' course he was happy...! Uh, I mean what are you talking about. I don't know nothin'!"

The four students shared knowing looks. They had him.

"Come on Hagrid, we know that you brought the object to Hogwarts." Ron stated "We just want to know what it is."

"Tha's none of your business!" Hagrid said. "Tha's strictly between Albus Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel!"

Once realizing what he said, Hagrid sat down trying to calm down and retreat from the conversation. "I shouldn' 'ave said that. I shouldn' 'ave said that."

Harry was tempted to continue with the interro- ... conversation, but they had enough details for the moment. And it looked like Hagrid was one step away from a panic attack, so it was probably best to change the topic.

"Hey Hagrid, I was reading a book on magical creatures, and did you know that some Dragons can fly up to 80 kilometres per hour at diving speed?"

* * *

A/N: I didn't mean to go all in depth with the sensei's back story – I was just going to say she was mean to Naruto, but it just came to me and I wrote it down.

And yes, Sirius escaped two years earlier than in the books. A lot of things from the HP world will happen earlier than in the books. I have my reasons though.

Next chapter: (hopefully) final explanation of magic and chakra


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I'm going to go more in depth for chakra vs. Magic, just so I can establish the rules of this AU. This will be important when it becomes time for Harry and Naruto to meet in real life. Hopefully everyone will understand my thoughts, if not just send me a review saying so. Also, I kind of made up my own rules to how transfiguration works. I know it doesn't work that way in canon, but it does here.

And one more thing. I'm getting a lot of reviews asking when Harry and Naruto will meet in the real world. So for those of you who just can't wait here it is: **Spoiler! **I set up this story so when one goes to the other's world it will be permanent. They will not be going back and forth, instead Harry is going to end up in the Naruto world and stay there. Because of this, Harry won't be going to the Naruto world for quite some time since both boys need to grow into their own first before being able to rely on each other to a greater extent. I've been leading up to it by having Harry think of himself as a shinobi first and wizard second (since he got the ninja training way before he knew he was a wizard) and the fact that he is far more independant and doesn't have as strong of a connection with those in his own world. So Harry will be going at the end of his third year (right before the time-skip in the Naruto timeline). So hopefully your curiosity is sated for now.

* * *

Almost two weeks has passed since school started, and Naruto was sitting in a quiet corner of the school yard, reading a scroll about chakra theory that the Sandaime had lent him when he had asked about chakra and how it works. It was really boring, and he wished he didn't have to read it, but if he didn't then Harry wouldn't be able to read it in the dreamscape.

When Harry realised that in all his classes they were going through theory before the practical, he assumed that it was probably the best place to start. So he asked that Naruto pay extra attention in school and read some scrolls on chakra theory so they would each have less trouble with jutsus and spells. Naruto reluctantly attended all the recent classes, telling Shikamaru, Kiba and Chouji that he'll skip with them again once he has better chakra control. If only the teacher wasn't so mean, or the material so boring! The things he did for his nii-san were unbelievable sometimes.

But his study session was cut short when he noticed a commotion in the middle of the schoolyard. A group of older boys from the senior class was teasing another boy that seemed faintly familiar to Naruto.

"Why don't you just give up?"

"You know you'll never succeed!"

"You can't be a ninja without chakra! There's no such thing!"

"Besides, how can you pass the genin exam when you can't perform the jutsus?"

When the victim just continued to ignore them and concentrate on moulding chakra, the other boys decided to resort to violence.

"Hey, civilian! Don't ignore us!"

Naruto decided it was his time to step in. He made sure that the scroll was safely put away before running over and hitting one of the boys that was holding the victim's arms. That was all the victim needed as he took down the boy holding his other arm while blocking a punch to his gut. Naruto ducked under another attack and swept another boy's feet out from under him.

"I hardly think that five on one is fair." Naruto said.

"Ha! I know you!" one of the boys proclaimed pointing at Naruto. "You're the dead last from the class behind us! I guess birds of a feather do flock together, and losers like you are no exception!"

Naruto growled out in warning. He knew he had the lowest scores in his class last year (and would end up as dead-last his year too), but that was due to a combination of skipping a majority of the classes and because the teacher hated him, both this year and last year. In skills, he was actually well above average.

"Oh yeah!" one of the other boys said "He's the one who thinks he's going to be Hokage one day! Ha ha ha! In your dreams kid! No way someone like _you_ will ever be a ninja, let alone Hokage!"

"Enough!" the victim from the earlier interrupted. "If he says he's going to be Hokage, then I believe him! No dream is impossible with hard work! Just like I'm going to be a great ninja, despite my inability to mould chakra!" With those final words, Naruto and his new acquaintance left the laughing boys and went to find somewhere else to hang out. Naruto looked to the other boy a little self-consciously; while it's true that not everybody laughed at him for wanting to be the Hokage (like Iruka-sensei and the Old Man), he had never had anyone defend his dream so vehemently. Naruto couldn't help but be touched.

"Hey, I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Thanks for what you said back there; most people laugh at my dream."

"It is no problem Naruto-kun!" the boy with very thick-eyebrows replied "I am Rock Lee and I believe in what I said; with hard work you can do anything!"

The two boys spent the rest of the afternoon talking. They were both surprised that they had lived in the same orphanage all those years ago, and Naruto was impressed with Lee's skills considering he couldn't mould chakra. Naruto told the other boy he was also confident that Lee would realize his dreams, which made Lee grab him in a hug, tears of gratitude and happiness rolling down his cheeks. Even though Naruto was uncomfortable and a little weirded out, he didn't say anything about the hug as Lee explained that the only other person who believed in him was a jounin who he had met in the academy yard last year (it was common for jounins to visit the academy at the end of the year to see if they were interested enough in the students to offer to take a team). Lee hoped that he would be able to call that man sensei at the end of this school year.

Even though Lee was kind of weird and very excitable, Naruto could already tell that they shared a bond and understood the other due to their similar experiences and beliefs. He could tell that he had just added another precious person to his list.

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The bell rang, signalling the end of the last class of the day. The first year Gryffindor students gratefully collected their things before dashing out of the transfiguration class room, eager to go outside and enjoy the warm weather while it lasted. Professor McGonagall was surprised to see Harry Potter in front of her desk, looking a little nervous.

"How can I help you Mr. Potter?"

Harry looked up and decided to ask. "Professor, I was curious about some things but I couldn't find the answers in the library. I was hoping if you could help me?"

Harry always threw McGonagall for a loop whenever she saw him. He was the spitting image of James, and despite herself she couldn't help but expect him to pull pranks and show that same reckless and cocky attitude. He even had three close friends like his father. Yet every time the boy said or did anything, McGonagall was forcibly reminded that as much as he looked like James, his mannerisms and mind were all Lily.

"Of course Mr. Potter; what would you like to know?"

"Well, in our first class you turned your desk into a pig and back again. Did you really make your desk alive, and if so, didn't you kill it by changing it back? And can anything be transfigured? If mean, why do wizards even have money – they could just transfigure anything they need. Or transfigure more money. And what is the point of a lot of these spells. I was reading a book and a lot of the spells were pretty useless like turning a goblet into a canary or a pencil into a straw."

McGonagall smiled at the questions. Like any good teacher, she enjoyed a student who was eager to learn.

"The first thing you must do is remember what I already said on transfiguration – it is among the hardest of magics. You are not only changing the shape of the object, but it's properties and composition. But nothing transfigured will stay in its transfigured state forever – the spell will eventually run out of magic and whether it takes years or minutes, the object will eventually turn back to its original form. It is possible to tie a spell into runes which can then feed the spell magic from another source, such as wild magic or a person periodically storing magic into the rune so the spell will last far longer, if not forever, but using just a wand the transfigured object will always eventually revert back to its original form. That is why nobody transfigures their own food or clothes. And the food won't even last to be digested anyway; once you bite it, it will return to its original state."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Here, let me show you something." Professor McGonagall went to retrieve a box of mice she had beside her desk. "I had my fifth year class try and transfigure them into compasses." The teacher explained as she retrieved a mouse from the box. "These mice are not transfigured; they were found around the castle and are very much alive. You asked that if I transfigure it, will I kill it. The answer is no – it puts the mouse in a sort of hibernation. If I transfigured it improperly however, that will probably kill the mouse. But if done properly, it is like stopping time for the mouse and it is in stasis." To further prove her point, she transfigured the mouse into a compass. Once Harry looked it over, noticing that it worked perfectly and he would never have known it was previously a mouse, he returned it to McGonagall who promptly changed it back. The mouse didn't even seem to notice that it was a compass not too long ago and didn't seem worse for wear.

"But what happens if you'd have dropped the compass or it breaks or something. Wouldn't that kill the mouse?" Harry asked.

"It might, depending on what you do. Another weakness of transfigured objects is that they will turn back to their original forms if they receive too much trauma or damage. Which is why you never use transfigured objects in potions – not only will the potion fail since the ingredient will turn back to its original form once you cut it or put it in the boiling cauldron, but it may have deadly results. It is also the reason why many people will bite galleons before accepting them – to tell if they are real or not.² So let's just say I transfigured this mouse into a compass and dropped it a few feet above the floor. The compass will change back into a mouse and though it might be a little shaken up, no harm will befall it. If I drop it out of the window however, the mouse would die. Most of the time the object will revert back into its original form before too much damage is sustained; as one of my students found out when he tried to pull the needle off of the transfigured mouse turned compass. In that case, before he could fully pull off the needle, it changed back into a mouse and bit him. The mouse does have some pulled muscles around its tail, but besides that nothing is wrong with it. However, the more magic you put into the spell the more damage the object can sustain before reverting back to its original form."

"But what about turning your desk into the pig? Did you make your desk alive?" Harry asked.

"You don't have to worry about inanimate to animate transfigurations for quite a few years." McGonagall explained "But if you're so eager to learn I will tell you. First, it depends on your definition of what life is. The pig my desk became, had blood, organs, and bones. It could breath, run and see. But was it truly alive, I would say no. What you must understand is that everything that's alive has some form of innate magic. Even muggles. What separates muggles from wizards is our magical core. When you transfigure something inanimate into something animate, your magic will keep it in that form for a while, but the being itself doesn't have the innate magic or a life-force of its very own, the only magic it contains is that of the spell. Some consider transfigured objects even less alive than paintings since they don't even have a personality."

Harry thought that over. The innate magic sounded similar to the physical energy of chakra, while the magical core sounded like the chakra pool that stored spiritual energy in ninjas, which agreed with his thoughts based on what he learned at Ollivander's and his healing books. But 

before he could confirm that, something McGonagall had said reminded him of another question he had.

"How do the paintings work? I mean, how is it possible to talk and move and think like they do?" Harry asked.

"The paintings rely on two spells – one is a spell that animates them to give them the ability to move and talk, and the other gives them their personality. Both spells are tied to runes in either the canvas or the frames which are also specially made to store magic, so the painting doesn't 'die'. The first spell you will learn in sixth year charms and is rather common, but the second one is the one you are probably most interested. The first thing you must know, is that all magical paintings must be based on something real – you will never find abstract art, unless it isn't animated, or only charmed enough to sway or do other simple movements. The talking paintings rely on the personality and habits of something that is already in existence. The spell scans the mind of the real life subject and creates an imprint of their personality and mind – the spell isn't damaging to the subject or anything, it just copies the memories and thoughts of the subject."

"Is it like the sorting hat?" Harry asked, remembering the talking hat that went through his memories and thoughts to find the proper house for him.

"Yes, it's similar but not quite the same. The sorting hat doesn't copy your memories and thoughts however, just goes through them. Once the spell copies the personality, it will be stored in special clear paint, which will eventually be mixed in whatever colours are used to paint the subject. And once the painting is complete, the activation spell will 'wake up' the painting and the personality. The painting will have all the memories of the subject, and based on the subject's thoughts and past decisions, the painting will have a very accurate portrayal of the personality and mannerisms of the real subject. But the painting is not the person themselves – they can only rely on the information provided to them to act and talk. They won't learn and grow as the real subject does and it is not actually alive.

Now, as to your question about the useless spells – I suppose a lot of them would seem impractical. But the more often you transfigure and the more diverse materials you use, the greater mastery of the subject you can achieve. Many of them are just used as training exercises, but some of them can prove useful. I actually use the first lesson to gauge the potential of my students by starting with turning a match stick into a needle, as you have already done. The match stick and needle are about the same size and weight, but wood and metal are very different elements making the exercise harder than it appears. Generally the results of that exercise give an accurate reading of a student's aptitude in transfiguration. And before you ask, you did well, among the best ones. But it is Ms. Granger who showed the greatest aptitude for transfiguration among your class, and all the first years."

Harry thanked Professor McGonagall for her time and made his way back to Gryffindor tower. He wanted to go over his book on healing again as he mulled over a few things. He almost had everything puzzled out.

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Harry and Naruto sat hunched over a work table, copies of books and scrolls from both their worlds laid out as they went over some facts they had figured out.

"Okay, so magic and chakra are the same thing, so we should each be able to do either spells or jutsus. Everyone has physical energy, since it's in our cells and is what gives us life, no matter if you're a wizard, muggle, civilian or ninja. But wizards and ninja have magical cores/chakra pools filled with spiritual energy that they can use to mix with their physical energy and then perform spells and jutsus." Harry said.

"But while shinobi focused on not only relying on their chakra, wizards found other ways to use their magic. So people from my world are generally stronger and faster than in your world, but the wizards in your world can use a wider array of techniques and for longer periods of time compared to the ninjas in my world. It also takes a wizard less time to perform a spell than it takes a ninja to perform a jutsu. And because your world is so reliant on your spiritual energy, your chakra pools tend to be larger than those in my world." Naruto continued.

"But Because the people in my world don't use their own chakra coils enough, I will probably have a harder time with jutsus and wandless magic than you since it wouldn't have been an important trait genetically speaking, to wizards who can use their wands for all the physical energy they need." Harry continued.

"But you would have an easier time with genjutsu and medical techniques than me since your world is slowly evolving to favour those with good control and precision."

Harry and Naruto sat back down exhausted. "I think that covers everything." Harry stated. "Now we can really start working on our jutsus and wand less magic."

* * *

² since gold is a soft metal, people used to bite it to tell if it was real. If there was no teeth marks, it was too hard and therefore fake gold. I just decided that for this story muggles got into the habit of biting gold from wizards; but they don't bite the silver or bronze like wizards also do.

A/N: so I hope everyone understood that. Just to make sure:

- In Naruto's world physical ability is almost as important as chakra ability. Therefore, due to evolution those in Naruto's world would be slightly stronger and faster

- In Harry's world, the invention of wands has made a wizards chakra coils (where the physical and spiritual energy mixes) unnecessary. Therefore they are _slowly_ being made useless like the appendix (but remember, it hasn't been _that_ long since wands were invented, and most wizards still do practice some wandless magic, like apparation and the animagus transformation). But on the same note, they would use their spiritual energy more and more so their magical cores are _slowly _becoming larger.

- Wands also reduce the casting time, especially if they are able to cast silently with no wand movements (so they could use techniques quicker than ninjas can)

- Because wizards only use their spiritual energy for the most part, and the fact that wands further focus and amplify the magic they do use, it would take an average wizard with a wand about three times longer to suffer from magical exhaustion then a ninja to suffer from chakra depletion (and yes chakra depletion magical exhaustion)

- If a wizard fought a ninja, it would be hard to tell who would win; ninjas have the advantage of strength and speed, making it hard, if not impossible, for them to be hit, but wizards would have the advantage in magic/chakra, and one lucky and/or skilled hit from the wizard would be all it takes to end the battle.

Therefore for an average:

A genin is roughly equal to a Hogwarts student (with upper year Hogwarts students being slightly better and younger years being slightly worse than an average genin.)

a chunnin is roughly equal to an adult wizard (with chunnin being slightly better)

a jounin is roughly equal to aurors and deatheaters (jounins being slightly better, especially special jounins)

sannins/kages are roughly equal to Dumbledore and Voldemort

Keep in mind those are all for **average** ninja's/wizards (so those that are going to stay that rank the rest of their lives). Those in Naruto's and Harry's generation (and their senseis/professors) are all considered above average for their given rank/age, and we all know that Harry and Naruto are both far above the norm power-wise.

Next chapter: Halloween!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: So, just a reminder – chakra and magic are the same thing in this story. And thanks to all those that reviewed. And in this story the clone technique (bushin no jutsu) and the illusion technique (henge no jutsu) will be genjutsu techniques, not ninjutsu (which they really are according to – which is a very good Naruto source, better than Wikipedia).

* * *

"Don't be ridiculous! It's obviously a trap to get you into trouble and lose points for Gryffindor! I guess that wouldn't mean much to you," Hermione argued ""but _some_ people actually work hard to get those points!"

"Oh quit complaining!" Ron retorted "you'll just earn them all back tomorrow, and that's _if _we even get caught! Besides, this is a matter of pride. There's no way we'll let that slimy snake call us cowards by not showing up."

It was around 11:30 at night during the last week of September in the Gryffindor common room and Harry, Ron and Hermione were the only ones up. Earlier that day Draco Malfoy challenged Harry to a duel at midnight in the trophy room, which Ron accepted on his behalf. Hermione didn't think they should go, to which Harry agreed since it was obviously a trap to get even with Harry showing up Draco in the flying lessons.

During Harry's second week of school, the first-years first flying lessons were scheduled to take place. Harry had been greatly looking forward to it – he remembered the enthusiasm with which McGonagall had spoken when explaining the sport to him, and who wouldn't want to be able to fly? Unfortunately it was with the Slytherins, which wouldn't have been too bad except Draco, embarrassed about their last encounter on the train, had been itching for a fight "to put the pathetic half-blood in his place".

Early on in the lesson Neville, who was too nervous to fly properly, fell, breaking his wrist. When the flying instructor left to escort Neville to the hospital wing, Draco took the opportunity to goad Harry into a flying competition by taking Neville's remembrall, which was a gift from the shy boy's Gran. Unfortunately for Draco, Harry was a natural in the air making Draco's plan to humiliate him in front of the entire Gryffindor/Slytherin first-year class backfire dramatically.

Knowing he wasn't going to win this fight, Draco launched the remembrall from over fifty feet off the ground, forcing Harry into a steep dive to save his friend's property. Harry barely managed to catch it with enough time to pull up and avoid the ground, but he did it. The gryffindors' celebration was cut short however when Professor McGonagall, sent by Madame Hooch to keep an eye on the class, arrived. Harry was pleasantly surprised when he only got a detention for unsupervised flying, but more importantly was drafted onto the Gryffindor quidditch team as seeker due to his spectacular dive and catch.

When Malfoy heard, he was furious since not only did his plan of humiliating Harry fail, he got three detentions compared to Harry's one, and an additional 20 points deducted from his house. And when he tried to complain to Madame Hooch about not being allowed to bring his own broom to school when Harry was, Madame Hooch explained that although Draco was skilled enough to fly without supervision, he wasn't mature nor responsible enough as proven by the fact that he disobeyed a direct order to stay on the ground for the sole purpose of destroying another student's property. Hence this duel so Draco could regain his tattered pride.

Ron, having enough of Hermione's lecturing, left the common room for the outside corridor, with Hermione storming after him. Harry considered letting them have at it and just go back to bed, but then he noticed Neville asleep on the ground in the outside corridor as Ron opened the portrait door. He had forgotten that Neville was to be released from the hospital wing that day – the day before Neville had another potions accident, and burnt himself rather badly. The poor boy probably forgot the password again and just camped outside the portrait door, waiting for someone to go by so he could enter. So Harry too left the common room, but for no other reason than waking the sleeping Neville up so they could go to bed. Unfortunately, no sooner was Neville awake and the portrait door closed, then the four first-years realized that the Fat Lady who guards the entrance was gone, and therefore they couldn't re-enter the tower. After more arguing from Ron and Hermione, Harry cut in.

"Well, we can't go back in the tower, so we might as well go to the trophy room. And before you say anything Hermione, I know it's a trap but I'd also rather not suffer through Malfoy's attitude on the off-chance that it isn't one. So we'll have to be very careful and quiet so we don't get caught." Harry said, stopping any further arguments before they could start.

They carefully made their way through the empty halls, filling Neville in about the situation as they walked. Harry and Hermione were right about it being a trap; no sooner than they entered the trophy room than they heard the school's mean-tempered janitor, Mr. Filch, and his pet cat Mrs. Norris approach. Unfortunately as they were sneaking away, Ron tripped over a suit of armor in his panic, making a huge noise and giving away their presence. Abandoning stealth, the four students sprinted as far away from the scene of the crime as they could, not caring where they were headed as long as they got away. They came to a dead end with a locked door as there only escape. Hermione did a quick spell to unlock it, and the four students scrambled inside before Filch could catch them.

Ninjas should always be aware of their surroundings – especially when their younger brother is a compulsive prankster. So as soon as Harry and his friends entered the room, Harry noticed the massive three-headed dog sleeping on the other side. No doubt they were in the forbidden third corridor.

'Well, at least I know _why_ it's forbidden.' Harry thought. 'Though why they thought it's a good idea to keep a giant three headed-dog that could eat an adult with one bite inside a school is beyond me.'

The dark-haired boy stayed quiet studying the dog and hoping his friends didn't notice it and panic. It was still asleep thankfully, and around each dog's neck was a collar, to which was fastened a leash that eventually joined together with the other leashes and was then bolted into the wall. Though Harry wasn't one hundred percent sure, he was fairly confident that the dog wouldn't be able to reach them.

'Well at least they made _some _precautions in case a student got curious,' Harry thought 'Kami knows that the lock couldn't even keep out a group of first-years with less than a month of schooling.'

Even though Harry knew that he and his friends were probably safe, if the dog did wake up he was going to get everyone out of there, Filch or no.

Thankfully their luck held, and Filch left assuming that they had taken another route. But before Harry could silently usher his friends outside, Ron broke the silence with a loud bark of relieved laughter.

"Oh man! I thought we were done for! Good thing he didn't try to open the door!"

Harry didn't waste time on Neville's terrified face as he noticed the awakening dog, nor on hushing the lecturing Hermione who was trying to make Ron see that she was right all along, and the duel was a trap. Harry just threw open the door, pushed his friends out and slammed the door behind him, casting another spell to re-lock the door. That whole process took only seconds, just giving Harry enough time to see the growling dog stand up, revealing a trap door underneath it before the door was shut and warded, hiding the room and the dog inside it from view.

"W-what was that?" asked a nervous Ron, who had only heard the deep growl before Harry had shoved him outside.

"B-big d-dog..." Neville replied.

The four students were silent on the trip back to the tower, three of which scarred about their potentially life-threatening adventure, and the other about the probable location of the object Hagrid had retrieved from Gringotts...

* * *

"What do you think Naruto's parents did that was so awful?" Kiba asked his current skipping partners, Shikamaru and Chouji. Though Naruto had skipped with them that day, when they were pursued by the teaching aides to retrieve them Naruto picked the short straw to become the diversion for the other three. The blond was then caught by the chunnins and returned to class while Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru retained their freedom.

For over a year Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji have been skipping classes to hang out, and even though they all got along and had fun they weren't close friends. They all knew the reason why – there was an invisible wall between Naruto and the other three put there by their parents and the other villagers. One minute they'd all be having fun, eating chips and reading manga, then once someone else came along (usually shooting Naruto a dirty look while they're at it), they were abruptly reminded that Naruto was the village pariah for reasons unknown. The other three boys even remembered their parents cautioning them of Naruto – they didn't forbid them from making friends with him like a lot of other parents did, they just told their children to be careful around him. They knew it wasn't the pranks that made everyone hate the blond – they were often roped into being accomplices since becoming skipping buddies and they never got a fraction of the hassle Naruto did. It wasn't because he was poor or an orphan; there was a girl in the year below them from the orphanage who no one had a problem with and she admitted that the staff of the orphanage had told her to stay away from Naruto as well. So the only possible explanation was that his parents had done something terrible, and so the villagers are wary of him being the same as his parents. But whenever the boys tried to ask their parents about it, they'd clam up and say it wasn't there business. And they couldn't find any trace of another Uzumaki, whether it be a civilian or a ninja. All that was left for them was speculation.

"You know we shouldn't be talking about this," Shikamaru said with no real heat in his words, "our parents will be mad. And my mom is such a drag when she's angry."

"It must have been pretty awful for _everyone _to hold it against him." Kiba mused, completely ignoring Shikamaru's warning.

"Well not everyone treats him badly." Chouji said, shooting his best friend an apologetic look for continuing the conversation. Shikamaru just shrugged his shoulders and lay down to look at the clouds, wordlessly saying that it was alright. "Iruka-sensei and the Sandaime seem to like him a lot. And I heard he's like an older brother to the Sandaime's grandson."

"Yeah, but most of the adults are pretty mean to him. Do you think Naruto knows what his parents did?" Kiba asked.

"No, he doesn't." Chouji answered. "A while ago my dad brought me to Ichikaru's ramen stand, and I overheard Naruto asking Iruka-sensei why everyone hated him, but Iruka-sensei said he didn't know."

Kiba mulled over that piece of information for a bit. "That sucks. I mean, if I was Naruto I'd want to know why everyone treats me the way they do, know what I mean? It's uncomfortable hanging out with him when the villagers are glaring all the time."

There was a pause in the conversation until Chouji suddenly spoke, gaining volume and confidence as he went. "I think we should still be friends with him." Chouji said. The other two boys looked over at the heavy-set boy, intent on what he was saying. Despite the fact that they had been hanging out with Naruto for so long and they all admitted that they liked the boy (especially Kiba who complained it was boring without the blond), they had never officially referred to him as a friend. "It's not fair that he isn't liked for something that's not his fault. And my dad says that good people look past appearances and how popular someone is, and become friends because of who they are as a person. Naruto didn't choose his parents, and it's not fair that he doesn't have many friends because of them." Chouji finished with flourish. Shikamaru and Kiba couldn't help but agree; and it was nice for them to hear Chouji speak about something so passionately that wasn't food. But Shikamaru wasn't really surprised – Akimichi's prided themselves on their unbreakable loyalty, something both Shikamaru and his father (who has Chouji's father as a teammate) would swear by.

"Well, class should be ending soon," Kiba said jumping up to his feet "let's go bust Naruto out of detention!" he finished with catching enthusiasm. Chouji looked over to Shikamaru to see what he thought of the idea.

Shikamaru gave a long suffering sigh. "Well I guess it's our fault he's in detention to begin with since he helped us escape from class..." Shikamaru said "so I guess it's only fair that we help him escape detention...even if it will surely be troublesome..."

Kiba whooped excitedly and Chouji gave his best friend a bright smile. Shikamaru proceeded to tell the other two boys how they were going to carry out 'Operation: Free Naruto' so that the four friends could play together until their parents came to pick them up.

* * *

Harry was practicing his taijutsu out in the quidditch pitch, early in the morning. His team wasn't going to arrive for another hour, so he had plenty of time to finish his katas before ending with a slow jog.

That was one thing he missed from being at the Dursleys; plenty of free time. It was never a problem to go out to the park early in the morning or late at night to do some drills and exercise. He could just leave his bedroom window open and jump down to escape, then use the nearby tree to climb back up again. But here, he had friends that would question where he was, the homework was more time consuming, he had his own personal research to do, there was a curfew and he had quidditch practice three times a week. And as much as he enjoyed the sport and spending time with his friends, he refused to be left behind in his and Naruto's shinobi training.

Harry finished the last series of moves, did a light stretch and then started his cool-down jog, letting his mind wander as he ran. It was hard to believe that it was already Halloween and two months had passed since the start of school. Sirius Black sightings have been few, but it was clear that the convict was making his way to Hogwarts. His professors haven't really said anything to him about it (Harry guessed that they had wanted to spare him from worrying too much, as if he wouldn't have figured out that he was a target), but he did notice that the professors always try to keep an eye on him.

Harry was doing well in all his classes except potions, mainly due to the Professor and the sabotaging Malfoy. It didn't really bug Harry that much though – he didn't have much interest in the subject and though he knew that he was better than Snape gave him credit for, he was hardly what you would call gifted in the subject. As long as he knew the material, the fact that he wasn't an ace at brewing was fine by him; he'll just buy what he wants/needs. Harry could perform all the spells he learned in class and the majority that he learned in his self-studies with his wand, and many of those he could also do wandlessly. But the spells that he could perform wandlessly sometimes fluctuated in strength and consistency when he practiced them.

Naruto was also learning the spells Harry knew (wandless of course). The blond had an easier time with the more powerful ones than Harry, but a much harder time on the ones that needed only a fixed amount of energy. He was also having some problems with his own studies (besides skipping school all the time) – though Naruto was first in his year for stealth and traps, and among the top in both ninjutsu and taijutsu, his genjutsu tanked and every year they had to perform at least one genjutsu technique to pass the genin exam; usually the Bushin no Jutsu (clone technique) or the Henge no Jutsu (illusion technique). Though Naruto was terrible at genjutsu, he could recognize its importance, especially when combined with other ninjutsu techniques. For example, the Kawarimi no Jutsu (or substitution technique), is a ninjutsu defence which substitutes the user with a log or another nearby object, so the object is the one who gets hit while the user is safely where the object used to be. But besides taking you out of the path of any attacks and giving you a new vantage point for the fight, it won't do anything. But if you use that technique with a genjutsu, you can make the substitute object look like you, so it takes longer for the enemy to realize they missed and giving the user more time to plan/carry out an attack/defence.

Both the fact that a genjutsu technique was always in the genin exam, and the fact that Harry could do them when he could not frustrated the blond to no end. Harry was at a loss to help his little brother, but he'd keep trying to find a way.

"Gee, and we thought that Wood was quidditch obsessed!"

Harry looked up to see the approaching forms of the Gryffindor quidditch team. Harry finished his jog and went to fetch his broom. It was just as well that no one knew about Naruto or his ninja training – Harry had a feeling that even in the magical world, having a little brother you could only contact in dreams wasn't usual.

* * *

Ron stomped over to Neville and Harry as their charms class drew to an end. They had been learning the levitation spell that day with Harry and Neville paired up together leaving Ron with Hermione. Even though as a group the four students got along, when Ron and Hermione were on their own they always argued. Today was no different. Seeing how Ron was mispronouncing the incantation and wasn't doing the proper wand movements, Hermione set out to correct him. Ron, feeling as though Hermione was just being high and mighty, took offense and told Hermione off. Hurt and angry with the other boy's behavior, Hermione proceeded to show Ron up by performing the spell perfectly. Ron continued to be in a bad mood since then, and still hadn't succeeded in performing the spell correctly.

"It's no wonder why nobody likes her," Ron groused at the other two boys "she's a bloody nightmare!"

Just then Hermione rushed by, and Harry could see that she had some tears in her eyes. Obviously she had been trying to catch up with Ron towards Harry and Neville and had heard his hurtful comment.

"I think she heard you Ron." Harry commented accusingly.

"Yeah, so? I was just saying the truth." Ron replied, looking more than a little guilty and uncomfortable.

"No you weren't." Neville responded angrily. He had stopped stuttering and being so quiet around Harry, Hermione and Ron, but was still very shy and nervous around others. "_We _are her friends. And if you don't want to be friends with her, then that's your decision, but me and Harry are still her friends." And with that said he stormed off.

"Hey, wait up!" Harry called after him. The brunette looked back at Ron before running after Neville. "Neville and I will be looking after Hermione, you can do what you want." Harry usually wasn't so short with Ron, but Harry couldn't stand bullies.

Ron guiltily followed the other two boys on their search for Hermione. The bushy-haired girl didn't show up for their last two classes of the day, and afterwards the boys couldn't find her either in Gryffindor tower, the library, Hagrid's hut or by the lake. Currently they were wandering the halls looking for any sign of the girl.

"I can't believe we're missing the Halloween Feast! I'm starving!" Ron groaned.

Harry gave the red-head a cutting look. "Well if you hadn't run off your mouth we wouldn't be missing it."

"I didn't mean it like that!" Ron said apologetically "It's just that Hermione might already be in the Great Hall for the feast. Besides, I can't search on an empty stomach."

"Well you can go back if you want," Neville said, not even bothering to look back at the tall boy as he opened every passing door and peeked inside for any sign of their female friend "but Harry and I are going to keep on looking. Besides, we've already been to the Great Hall; she wasn't there."

"Yeah, but that was before the feast even started and tons of students hadn't even arrived yet!" Ron argued "How do we know she hadn't gone down to eat while we're here wandering around looki-"

Ron was caught off by Neville's triumphant cry. "She's in here!"

The three boys entered the girl's bathroom, where they could clearly hear the sound of sniffling from the locked stall.

"Hermione...?" Harry ventured. He spared a thought to the embarrassment he'd feel if they were mistaken and it was someone else.

"What do you want?" Hermione asked harshly, her voice thick from crying.

"W-well, I can't speak for Ron," Neville said "but me and Harry have been looking for you all day. We missed you and we wanted to tell you that Ron was wrong – you're _our _friend."

There was a pause and then Hermione spoke again, her voice small and hesitant. "B-but no one likes me, not even the Gryffindor girls. They say I'm a bossy know-it-all."

"I don't think so." Neville said with more confidence. "You're just really smart. And that's a good thing or I'd be failing potions. You're a good friend and you hang out with me, even though I'm clumsy and not very good at magic."

"That's not true!" Hermione countered. "You're a good person and very good at magic; you just have some problems in potions." Then her voice became soft and quiet again. "And besides, I _am_ a bossy know-it-all."

"So what?" Neville countered "You're our friend! And you're _our _bossy know-it-all!"

Hermione gave a chocked sob/laugh then threw open the bathroom stall door and jumped on Neville, giving him a giant hug. They stayed like that for a few moments, relishing in the knowledge that they had good friends. Harry looked on with a smile and Ron was torn between relief, happiness and guilt. Finally Hermione ended the hug, but when she pulled away she noticed Ron.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked accusingly, her eyes narrowed in anger.

"I-I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Ron said, truly apologetic. "I was just frustrated that I couldn't do the spell, and I took it out on you. I didn't mean what I said, and I'd like to stay friends with you." Ron finished looking at Hermione uncertainly.

The bushy-haired girl looked at Ron for a long time, seeming to be judging him and his words. Finally her face broke into a smile and she stepped forward, hand extended.

"Friends?"

Ron let out a relieved smile and took her hand in his. "Friends."

The four friends left the bathroom and started to make their way back to the Great Hall for the end of the feast. But before they reached their destination, they stopped as they caught sight of Professor Snape hurrying along the corridor heading towards the stairs, looking to be in a rush and up to no good as he looked around every which way for reasons unknown.

"What's he doing there; shouldn't he be in the Great Hall?" Hermione asked trying to keep her voice down.

"Who cares what the Greasy Git is doing, I'm starved!" Ron replied just as quietly.

"It looks like he's headed for the third floor corridor." Harry stated.

"But why would he want to go there!" Neville exclaimed. "Does he want to die!"

"Let's hope so." Ron responded.

That comment earned him a smack and reprimand from Hermione. Before they could get into yet another argument about the respect that a teacher deserves, Harry cut them off.

"He's probably going to try and steal that object that Hagrid retrieved from Gringotts." Harry said. Hermione had also seen the trap door all those weeks ago, and had come to the same conclusion as Harry. The only difference was that she shared her information with everyone else and then insisted that everyone look into Nicholas Flamel to try and find what the mysterious treasure was. So far they didn't find anything, but the presence of the three headed-dog confirmed their guess that whatever the object was, it was definitely either extremely valuable and/or extremely dangerous.

"And what better time to do it than when the rest of the staff are in the Great Hall for the feast?" Harry continued, explaining his reasoning "He could just say he had a lot of marking to do, or that he had to go to the bathroom, and then he was home-free for the next hour or so."

"But he's a teacher!" Hermione protested, sounding scandalized. "How can you imply that he'd do something illegal like that!"

"Look at the facts Hermione; all the teachers are in the Great Hall _but _him. His classroom, House dormitories and his own private rooms are in the dungeons, which are in the _opposite _direction. He's heading towards the third floor where we _know _something either very valuable or very dangerous, or both, is kept. And he's alone and looking around for any followers, so he's probably not going there under Dumbledore's orders." Ron pointed out.

Hermione couldn't say anything to that.

"I think we should follow him." Neville said. Everyone looked at him in slight surprise. Neville blushed under their stares. "W-well, if he's going to be stealing something like that from Hogwarts, he should be stopped."

"But we shouldn't stop him!" Hermione protested "We're just first-years! We don't even know for sure if he's doing anything bad! We should go get a teacher."

Harry looked up to where Snape was disappearing from view. On one hand, Harry was used to doing things himself and he was confident that he could stand to go after Snape who would be at a disadvantage for not knowing about Harry's shinobi training. But on the other hand, he's never had friends with him and he'd feel bad if they got hurt. He also didn't want to reveal his alternate training unless he absolutely had to – it would raise too many questions and he wanted to save it for when people like Sirius Black and the maybe-or-maybe-not dead Dark Lord came after him.

"I think Hermione's right." Harry said to the others' shock. "We don't know the full story and it can be dangerous acting on incomplete information. Besides, there's no guarantee that the dog is the only safe-guard protecting the object, and we don't even know how to get by it."

Decision made, they sprinted into the Great Hall, but were shocked to find it completely empty.

"Now what?" Ron asked.

"Well, we could always try the staff lounge or the common room." Hermione suggested.

"It'd take too long." Harry replied. "We already tried getting a teacher and it didn't work. By now Snape is already at the forbidden corridor. We should go there and at least try to stall him."

"But we don't even know if he is trying to steal the object!" Hermione objected.

"Well if he isn't, then he won't be there so we can leave. But if he is, then we'll try to stop him. But you might be right about getting a teacher; you three can split up and look for a teacher while I head off Snape."

"What?!"

"No way!"

"Yeah, we're going with you!"

"Fine then," Harry said as he started to run towards the forbidden corridor, ignoring the warm feelings in his chest from those words "but be careful and follow my lead."

And with Harry heading the pack, the four students were off.

* * *

A/N: Hey everybody! Looking back at my previous chapters, I realize that I stressed certain facts that aren't all that important. I was just reminding myself for the most part what differences and similarities I had worked out of the two worlds. This became more clear when I read some of the reviews (especially from The Door Is Locked). So I'm going to go over some questions to clear up any confusions. (Note that some of these questions are paraphrased and not the exact ones in the reviews.)

**Since the magic eventually runs out for spells, what about magical objects? I don't see Moody using something that will eventually wear out (like his magical eye).**

As I said before, spells can be tied to runes which either stores exces magic, and/or gathers the wild magic from the air which can make magical objects such as paintings and Moody's eye last indefinately. Even without using those methods its possible for a transfigured object to last years before it runs out of magic and reverts back to its original form (depending on how much damage it sustained, and amount of magic put into the spell, how simple the spell was and he object itself).

**Early on, you mentioned that though Naruto way far stronger than Harry, Harry was much faster. However, at one point you droped that and made Naruto both faster and stronger, period, and brought up that wizards are generally inferior in both. I'm a bit confused about that inconsistency, to be honest. Plus, it does seem a bit of a generality--I understand that ninja have to be far fitter in order to survive, but that takes such a long time that I can't imagine the difference would be that clear-cut, especially as not all ninja come from ninja clans, and not all those in clans are powerful ninja.**

I can see where I was inconsistant there even if I never meant to be. At first I had the idea that Naruto would be stronger while Harry was faster, then I meant to have Naruto improve on both strength and speed to a higher degree than Harry as they start to mature more physically (I know its a little early, since they're both so young but I see the people in Naruto's world developing slightly earlier and quicker due to their dangerous lifestyles). Apparently I made the gap seem larger than I pictured it because I kept commenting on it. So yes, Naruto is stronger but it's the sort of gap between the best kid on gym class versus the worst (for their age level). And for speed, they're about the same. Don't worry though, once they start learning how to manipulate chakra to their limbs to increase their strength and speed there won't be any difference (well, maybe Harry will be a bit better since I plan to give him better chakra control if you haven't noticed it yet).

And as for the difference between an average person in Naruto's world vs. an average person in Harry's world; like everything else I explained, they are just generalisations. There will be people in Harry's world who will be stronger than those in Naruto's world and so on and so forth. But of all the generalisations I made, the physical abilities between the worlds was the most clear cut. Even civilians in Naruto's world are fit and strong, let alone ninja's from non-ninja clans. They'd have to be since they don't have the creature comforts that those in Harry's world do (technology for muggles and magic for wizards) and even if they don't deal with ninja's they still have an active lifestyle and have to worry about bandits.

**The comments that wizards would be superior with genjutsu and medical techniques as opposed to ninjutsu and wandless..I just don't get it. Sure, there's no 'natural selection' issue in Harry's world, but then again--is there really much of one in Naruto's? You said previously that most ninja only use a few ninjutsu techniques in battle due to high chakra costs, so how much of an effect could a propensity for that area of ninja training realistically have?  
**  
Ummm...you got me there. I got ahead of myself since I plan to give Harry good chakra control, so I just made it a generalisation to make it easier for myself later on in the story. But you're right, there really is no reason for people in Harry's world to prefer genjutsu and magical jutsus over ninjusu. My mistake.

Also, when I said that ninjas only use a few techniques in battle due to high chakra costs, I wasn't only talking about ninjutsu, but any techniques including genjutsus and medical techniques.

**Could ninja learn jutsu wordlessly, or without handseals since wizards can cast silently and wandlessly?**

Yes, but it takes a lot of chakra, effort and practice (just like wandless magic for wizards). On that note, don't expect to see much of it and it will mostly be for low level techniques.

**If Harry goes to Naruto's world at the end of his third year, what about Voldemort? **

You'll just have to wait and see. But as you can already tell, I'm messing around with the HP timeline so anything could happen.

**Two words - no way! **

I have had one reviewer saying that there is no way wizards could hope to compare to ninjas and I've portrayed them as too powerful, and another who says I'm selling wizards short and they aren't portrayed as powerful enough. So here's one last look at my little scale of wizards vs. ninjas.

First of all, it's no fun having one group uber!powerful compared to the other; then there's no point in having the crossover if one so completely outclasses the other. I wanted them to be about the same since that makes the story more intesting. And you guys don't really have to worry about this stuff yet since ninjas and wizards have yet to make contact.

Now my first level, genin vs. Hogwarts students.

Genins would be better at physical things like taijutsu, weapons and survival training but the Hogwarts students would have a far greater amount of spells/techniques to use in a fight (especially older students). A newbie genin is about equal with second or third year student, and an experienced genin would be about equal with a ffourth or ifth year student. Genins would have a slight advantage in that they would be far less likely to freeze during a fight (especially experienced genin) since they were trained for combat but once we get to the upper years, not only would the wizard know _far_ more techniques, they'd also have a bit more experience in dueling (even if it's only in class dueling).

Chunnin vs. adult wizard

Same as above; ninja better at the physical aspects but the wizard would know more spells. But unlike before, in this level the ninjas would have a better chance than the wizards since chunnin already have plenty of battle experience while an average adult wizard would have only partaken in friendly duels (that's not to say that they're easy duels, just that the mortality rate would be extremely low since they'd aim for disarming rather than killing).

Jounin vs. auror/death eater

They all have physical training (though jounin beats auror beats death eater since jounin have trained physically for far longer and death eaters would only resort to physical violence as a last resort since it would be too barbarian and muggle for them). Technique/spell wise, they're about the same (especially jounins and death eaters who won't hesitate to take a life, though jounins will only do so when they feel it's necessary). They are all also experienced in battle and won't freeze up. So on the whole, jounins would be slightly better, but they are all about the same.

Sannin/Kage vs. Dumbledore and Voldemort

Physically, Dumbledore and Voldemort are obviously weaker. But they would more than make up for it due to thier magical powers and skills, since I could see them blocking and/or avoiding any physical attacks before they became an issue. And like the sennins and kages, they all have a wide array of techniques, mastery over their chakra/magic and plenty of experience. So yes, they are about equal.

Thus ends this session of questions and answers. Feel free to leave questions and comments and I'll try to answer them all.

Next chapter: Halloween part two.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thanks to all those that reviewed. And I still don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. So just in case someone was wondering if I miraculously obtained the rights and ownership of them since I posted chapter 1, this is to let you know I didn't.

* * *

They all arrived at the third floor corridor, Harry being the only one not out of breath. Ron was second best, taking big gulps of air but still able to run and fight. Neville and Hermione however looked like they were ready to collapse. But the good news was that with the time it took to sprint to the third floor corridor, Snape would have only been in there for a couple of minutes.

"You sure you don't want to get a teacher while I confront Snape?" Harry asked his winded companions.

"Shut up! (wheeze) Don't tal- (gasp), talk like that!" Ron admonished.

"Yeah! (gulp) You can't (wheeze), get rid of us (pant) that easy!" Neville continued.

Hermione just nodded her agreement.

"Suit yourselves." Harry said, pushing away any doubt and worry over what could happen.

They opened the door to find a sleeping three-headed dog, an open trap door and an unconscious and injured Severus Snape.

"W-what happened?" Hermione asked.

Harry approached the professor and after inspecting his wounds, used some spells to disinfect and bandage the man's leg. All those weeks ago, when Neville was being treated for a broken wrist after their first flying lesson, Harry went to visit him and return his remembrall. That's when Harry met Madam Pomphrey, the school's medi-witch, and as they struck up a conversation, Harry asked some questions based on what he learned in his book on healing. After realizing Harry's genuine interest and in depth knowledge (for his age) of healing, Poppy (as she insisted he call her) offered to let him visit any time he wanted with questions or comments. Ever since then Harry'd try and visit once a week, and Poppy would help him with some spells from his book, recommend other books from the library, or tell him some extra facts that the healing texts left out. She even suggested that if he kept it up, when he was older she'd let him help her around the hospital wing.

"It looks like they knocked each other out. I guess we don't have to worry about anything being stolen then." Ron said.

"I don't think so." Harry contradicted, standing up from inspecting the professor. The other three looked towards the green-eyed boy in askance as Harry pulled out his wand and used a spell to tie up the potions master. And to think, Harry only learned that spell so he had a way to subdue his brother when he was in a hyper mood. "His leg was bitten by the dog and he has a bump on his head, probably from either being hit directly or from hitting the ground after being knocked out by a spell. Either way, there's no way that he was here alone. If he used magic to subdue the dog, which it looks like is the case, he'd have no reason to be within striking distance to get bit – the leash doesn't reach that far. Either someone pushed him towards the dog before it was completely knocked out, or he approached the dog too early, assuming that the dog was fully under; allowing the dog to bite him. If it was the second case, Snape should still be awake since the bite isn't that serious. So that means either someone pushed him towards the dog and then knocked him out when he only got a minor injury, or they came after Snape got himself bit and then knocked him out. I don't know if the other person was a partner in crime who double-crossed Snape, or a rival seeking the object, but either way there was someone else here to knock out the professor and then go down the trap door."

"So what do we do?" Hermione asked.

"Well I'm going down. The other culprit only has a few minutes head start and we can still stop them. Two of you can go get teachers, and the last person can guard Snape." Harry replied.

"We're not going through this again!" Ron exclaimed, exasperated.

"Ron's right," Neville said determinedly "we're going with you. We don't know who the other person is, so it's best to have everyone there just in case."

Seeing that his friends were determined, Harry conceded and led the way to the trap door. "Fine, but I'll go down first to see if it's safe. And just for the record, my guess is the other person is Quirrell." That said Harry dropped down the hole, ignoring his friends disbelief that Quirrell could possibly be the other culprit. The drop was long and Harry lit his wand with a lumos spell as he fell, hoping to see where he could land. He needn't have worried, since there was a giant plant at the bottom which cushioned the fall. Keeping his lit wand aloft, Harry climbed off the squirming plant, which was probably unhappy that Harry fell on it and proceeded to walk all over it. The messy-haired boy made his way to solid ground and then called up to his friends so far above that the trap door was only a tiny spot of light.

"It's a long drop, but there's some sort of giant plant at the bottom to break the fall!"

Harry ventured further away from the plant looking for any sign of the culprit or the mysterious valuable object. All he found was a giant wooden door from which he could hear faint buzzing noises on the other side. The sound of three 'oomphs' and three bodies hitting the plant drew him from his contemplations – apparently Hermione, Ron and Neville opted to jump at the same time, probably to avoid accidently landing on each other as they fell. That was fine by Harry since they save time this way, even if it was only a minute or two.

"Ugh! I think you kneed me! So much for not hitting each other when we land; we jumped together and I was still injured!" Ron complained "And why is it so dark? I can't see a bloody thing!"

"It's so dark because we just fell hundreds of meters underground!" Hermione replied a little testily, obviously annoyed at Ron's criticism "And I can do a spell so we can see _if you'd let go of m_y _arm_. Or better yet, you can do it yourself!"

"Uhh, Hermione? I'm not holding onto your arm."

Just then Harry finally made his way back to his friends, his still lit wand allowing everybody to see that the plant had vines wrapping around Ron, Hermione and Neville, and more vines were joining in.

Harry looked at his struggling friends in shock. "But the plant never grabbed me! Why is it grabbing you?!"

"Because you probably had your wand lit." Neville replied "I know what plant it is; it's a Devil's Snare. It likes dark and damp places and hates light and heat. If your wand was already lit when you landed it wouldn't have grabbed you because it didn't want to get close to the lumos spell."

Harry didn't need any further prompting to bring his lit wand closer to his friends to free them. But once he'd reach for one friend, the plant sped up in trapping the others and even went for his own body parts that wasn't fully in the light of the spell. So Harry pulled out the big guns.

"_LUMOS MAXIMA_!"

The resulting light was blinding after the extreme dark and Harry's friends had no further trouble escaping from the plant's clutches.

"That was close!" Ron exclaimed. "Good thing Neville pays attention in Herbology, eh? Though I'm a little surprised you didn't know it Hermione." Ron finished with a teasing grin.

"Hmph!" Hermione snorted, obviously more than a little miffed at Ron's teasing comment about her intelligence "it's _you _who didn't pay attention in Herbology; we never talked about Devil's Snare. Neville probably read ahead, and that's why he knew it. And despite what you might think, I haven't had time to read _all _our textbooks. I'm rather curious why Harry knew the lumos maximus spell when we've only talked about the normal lumos spell in class though."

"You aren't the only one who reads ahead." Harry replied. He definitely wasn't going to explain that he looked up the spell for his little brother's (who he only sees in his dreams) benefit since Naruto was having trouble only putting a set amount of magic in the lumos spell. But on that note Naruto mastered the lumos maximus spell on the first try and can now reliably do the ordinary lumos spell.

The first-years finally reached the door Harry had been inspecting earlier, and with a silent agreement Ron opened the door and they all sprinted to the other side. Unfortunately the other door was locked and alohomora, the only unlocking spell Harry and Hermione presently knew, didn't work so they had no choice but to look up and find out what they could do.

"I wonder why those birds didn't attack us yet." Neville said, pointing to the winged horde up above creating the large buzzing noise. Harry squinted – was that a flash of metal?

"Wait a minute..." Harry said "those aren't birds! They're winged keys!"

"Then that means one of them must be for the door!" Hermione exclaimed. "But there's only one broom to catch it with!"

"Well Harry is the Gryffindor seeker." Ron stated "Just think of it as a warm up for the big game in two weeks. By the way, you're looking for a large brass key." He added after inspecting the style of the door.

Harry grabbed the broom and rose to the air. There were almost a thousand keys, all perpetually moving in random paths at different speeds and it was impossible to keep track of which one was which. After about ten minutes of searching Harry saw it – a large brass key. But what made it special from the other large brass keys was the fact that one of its wings was crumpled as if someone had already caught it before. Not letting his eyes leave the prize, Harry made chase and was soon victorious. He landed, handed the key over to his friends and they opened the door. They found themselves on a giant chessboard that spanned the whole room, complete with giant chess pieces that were at least six feet tall. They were on the black side and could see the next door behind the white king. But when they tried to get to it, the white pieces prevented them and they all thought it prudent not to press the issue.

"I think we have to play our way across." Ron said. Everyone turned to listen to what he was saying. "So far there's been a giant dog, but it was chained up, a plant that could be defeated with a light spell, and a room of flying keys that also provided a broom. These are tests, not preventions. Which means that the only way to continue would be to play our way across, and if we win we can go through."

"I think you're right. Well, you're the best at chess out of all of us, so you tell us what to do and we'll do it." Harry replied.

Ron took a moment to think it through and then directed Neville to replace a bishop, Hermione took the place of a rook and Harry was to be the king.

"Why am I the king? Shouldn't you be the king since you're directing everybody?" Harry asked Ron as the red-head took the place of a knight.

"No; the king is the most protected piece on the board. Since you're so dead set on stopping whoever the culprit is, this will guarantee that you will be able to go on uninjured unless we lose."

"Speaking of the culprit," Hermione said as Ron started playing "why do you think it's Quirrell? I mean, the man's afraid of his own shadow, there's no way he'd ever be capable of anything like this!"

"But that's exactly why I suspect him." Harry replied. "It's too convenient and he stutters _all the time. _He obviously had to be somewhat competent for Dumbledore to hire him, yet he acts like he's more harmless than a three year old. There's something fishy about it."

"You think it's him because he _stutters?" _Ron asked incredulously. "Neville stutters! Do you suspect Neville as well? And besides, you heard the rumours; Quirrell was decent at defense against the dark arts until he met up with a vampire in Albania and barely escaped from his life, that's why he's so scared."

"Well that's just a rumour; no one knows what the truth really is." Harry retorted. "And as for Neville's stuttering, he only does it when he's nervous, like when he's answering a question in Snape's class. And even then he only stutters for a few words and then he talks properly, if not nervously. As I already said, Quirrell stutters _all the time. _It doesn't matter who he's with; teachers or students. And he stutters throughout his speech, not just during the beginning. I had thought that maybe it was a speech impediment but it's not constant either – sometimes he'll stutter on the p's, then he'll pronounce them perfectly and stutter on the t's instead. No, his stuttering isn't natural."

The other three students looked at Harry in disbelief; they never would have noticed if someone hadn't pointed it out to them, and they were surprised that Harry had. It made them wonder what else Harry had noticed that he had decided not to remark on.

"What?!" Harry asked defensively when they still didn't stop their staring. "It's important to be aware of your surroundings!"

The rest of the game was played in silence as Ron slowly but surely led them to victory. Finally, they got to a point where they where two moves away from winning, but to guarantee the victory Ron would have to sacrifice himself.

"Don't do it Ron! You could get hurt!" Hermione cried.

"It's the only way to guarantee a win." Ron replied determinately. "Besides, we already knew we could get hurt when we decided to chase after Snape in the first place. Don't worry about me, you guys just make sure you stop Quirrell, or whoever, from taking the thing, whatever it is."

Ron paused to think over his last sentence. It definitely wasn't the most inspiring speech, but it served its purpose. Ron moved within the striking range of the white queen, which left its guard position in front of its king to attack Ron. Harry reminded Hermione not to move off her square, since it was rather obvious that she wanted to go check on Ron as Neville played out the last move, putting the white king in checkmate. Once the white king conceded defeat, Neville, Harry and Hermione ran over to check on Ron.

"Well he's out, and probably has a mild concussion, but I don't know for sure." Harry replied. "One of us should stay with him while the other two go on."

Neville offered to stay, stating that Hermione was the stronger student and would be the most helpful. So with a promise to come back as soon as possible, Harry and Hermione continued through to the next room. There was a giant troll, which was thankfully unconscious. Plugging their noses to deal with the awful stench, Harry and Hermione limberly stepped around the troll to the next room. But just as soon as they crossed the doorway, they were surrounded by fire. The door they had just entered was blocked by a purple fire, and the door to go forward was blocked by a black fire. In the middle of the room was a table with seven differently sized bottles, all with apparently the same liquid inside. Hermione picked up the piece of parchment that lay in front of the bottles. Once she finished reading through it, she turned to Harry.

"It's a riddle! Three of those bottles contain poison, two contains wine, one potion will allow you to go through the purple flames and the last will allow you to go through the black flames. Just give me a minute and I'll have it figured out."

The bushy-haired girl proceeded to walk up and down the table, pointing to various bottles and mumbling to herself. After a few minutes she finally cried out in triumph and turned back to Harry.

"I got it! The bottle at the end on the right will let us go back the way we came and the smallest bottle will let us go forward."

They picked up the small bottle and realized that it would only have enough for one person to go through. Harry looked over to Hermione.

"I'll take this potion to go through and confront Quirrell; you go back to Ron and Neville. One of you can stay with Ron while the other uses the broom in the key room to go back up through the trap door and get a professor."

Hermione agreed, and in a fit of emotions threw herself on Harry.

"You're a great wizard and friend, you know that, right?" she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and grabbed the potion to allow her to go back to Neville and Ron. "Ugh!" she shivered "it feels like my blood turned into ice!" With one last shaky smile, Hermione walked through the purple flames. Harry took a few moments to pull himself together and push his friends fates and Hermione's hug (his first ever hug from someone in his own world) out of his mind. Once Harry was calm and ready to go on, he uncorked the small bottle.

"Bottoms up."

* * *

The next room was obviously the last one in these series of tests – there was no other door besides the one he just went through and he could see Professor Quirrell, turban and all, inspecting a giant mirror and mumbling to himself.

Harry's plan of staying hidden and just watching, jumping in only when he needed to, failed miserably since Quirrell turned around seconds after Harry entered the room, spotting the pre-teen immediately. With a snap of Quirrell's fingers Harry found himself wrapped in ropes, arms by his sides and legs tied together, and with another spell Harry's wand was flying towards Quirrell's hand. Harry found himself impressed that Quirrell was able to perform the incarcerous spell wandlessly and with no incantation and the only hand movement being the snap of fingers. The green-eyed boy also briefly lamented the fact that although he learned the spell to tie people up, he never thought of looking up a spell to get out of it since the dreamscape provided kunai to cut the rope with just a thought when it was needed.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise!" Quirrell gloated, all traces of his well-known stutter gone. "What is the wizarding world's golden boy doing here when he should be safely tucked away in his dormitory?"

"I rather thought it was a nice evening to go for a walk." Harry calmly replied. "How about you? Shouldn't you be too afraid to leave your quarters in case you bump into a vampire or something?"

Quirrell gave the trapped boy a hard kick in the stomach. "Impudent whelp! I, afraid of a mere vampire when I have the power of the Dark Lord on my side!" Quirrell said angrily. "Soon I will help my Lord gain the power he had lost and the Dark Lord will rule the world! All the unworthy muggle filth will be cleansed and mudlboods and muggle-lovers will be punished!"

"Uh-huh. And you're going to do all that with a mirror?" Harry asked incredulously. He knew that objects in the magical world were more than they appeared, but a mirror? It was the only object in the room besides Quirrell and himself, so it must be the mysterious powerful/valuable object that Hagrid had retrieved from Gringotts.

"Not the mirror you idiot, what's inside the mirror!" Quirrell raged.

"...Glass...?"

"Argh! The Philosopher's Stone! The single most powerful man-made magical object in the whole world which turns any metal it touches into gold and produces the Elixir of Life which will give immortal life to any that drinks it!"

"Ooohh...!" That made a lot more sense. Now Harry could see why Quirrell wanted it. But how would it help the ex-Dark Lord?

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Harry said "but isn't Voldemort MIA? Most people seem to think he's dead, so how can the stone help him? And why would you want to help someone that everyone says is evil?"

"Evil? Ha! My Lord taught me that there is no good or evil in this world; only power and those too weak to seek it! And as for the Dark Lord being dead...he is too great to die...the Dark Lord lives...he's in my thoughts and actions...he's a part of me..." Quirrell said, sounding very creepy. Harry didn't know whether he should be touched at the level of devotion and sappiness spewing from Quirrell's mouth, but the pre-teen decided that he'd go with disturbed and freaked out.

Leaving Harry where he lay, Quirrell went back to the mirror, studying every inch of it with no results.

"Master, I don't understand! I see myself presenting the stone to you, but where is it?!" Quirrell cried out in frustration. Then to Harry's surprise, a voice answered back.

"Use the boy..."

Quirrell spun around and glared at Harry. "Get over here Potter! Stand in front of the mirror and tell me what you see!" Which a wave of Quirrell's hand the ropes around Harry fell away, allowing the boy to stand up. The green-eyed boy thought about making a run for it, but that would go against the whole purpose of him and his friends coming down here. That and Harry was insatiably curious.

When Harry was close enough, Quirrell grabbed his arm and placed him in front of the mirror. At the top the words '_Mirror of Erised_' where carved with '_Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi' _carved underneath in smaller letters. Harry couldn't make heads or tails of it. Then Harry looked into the mirror itself, and what he saw shocked him.

There he was, smiling and happier than he'd ever been, with his arm thrown around a grinning Naruto with a tailored Hokage outfit on. Behind Harry were two people that had to be his parents – he was like the mini-version of his father, with the same messy black hair and thin build. His green eyes were that of his auburn haired mother, as was his nose. They were smiling at both boys with love and pride. And behind Naruto, was another couple. Harry gasped at the similarities – like himself, Naruto was also the spitting image of his father, maybe even more so. The only differences between Naruto and his father were the whisker-like scars/birthmarks that Naruto had on his cheeks, the chape of their eyes and the spikiness of thier hair (Naruto's spikes were a bit thicker). And as for Naruto's mother, she could have passed for Harry's aunt; she too had red hair and green eyes, but her eyes were more of a bluish green compared to his emerald, and her hair was a few shades lighter and brighter than his own mother's hair. Like his own parents, Naruto's were looking at the two boys with love and pride. It wasn't hard to imagine that all together they were one big happy family. Without Harry even realizing it, his hands started to shake and one clumsily reached forward to touch the glass. Harry forgot all about Quirrell and the stone, so transfixed with what he was seeing. How often had he wished that he could see Naruto in the waking world? That he'd have his parents who would love and support him? That Naruto could have someone to depend on and love him in his own world?

His trance-like state was interrupted when Quirrell none too gently grabbed the boy's shoulder and spun him around, impatient to get the stone. "Well?! What did you see?"

Harry opened and closed his mouth a few times. "N-nothing!" Harry replied, still thrown off balance by the image of his family, all together and happy. One thing was certain; he wasn't going to tell Quirrell anything! That image was personal!

"Let me talk to the boy..." the strange voice from earlier said, echoing around the large room.

"But Master, you aren't yet strong enough –"

"Silence! I'm strong enough, for this..."

Quirrell bowed his head in obedience and then reached around to his turban. Slowly he started unraveling it, much to Harry's confusion. When the cloth from turban was finally unraveled and fell to the ground, Quirrell turned around, presenting something Harry never would have guessed.

'What the Hell?!' Harry thought 'He has a _face _on the back of his_ head! _How is that even possible!'

"Harry Potter..." the face rasped "Do you see what I've become? My body destroyed, living purely on magic and will...merely a spirit, forced to possess others for strength and power..."

Suddenly Harry knew who he was talking to. "Voldemort...?"

"Yess..."

Suddenly Quirrell's words from earlier made a lot more sense.

"You need not fear...I won't kill you...if you help me. If you do, I will make your wildest dreams come true. Isn't that what you _desire_, to see your parents alive and well? To see them and your aunt, uncle and cousin, together and happy?"

Harry looked up in shock. Somehow Voldemort knew what he saw in the mirror. He must have mistaken Naruto for his cousin and Naruto's parents for his relatives though. Harry looked back towards the mirror, longing in his eyes; but from this angle he couldn't see himself or the image in the reflective surface. But looking into the carved words, Harry suddenly had an epiphany; how the mirror showed him his greatest wish, the way Voldemort had stressed the word 'desire' – the mirror shows what you want most in the world. Of all the obstacles Harry had faced so far, this was easily the most dangerous. Harry could already feel the longing to go and lose himself in the image the mirror showed. But he would not – what would Naruto do if his older brother wasn't there, spending all his time wasting away in front of a mirror? No, Harry survived this long on his own, overcoming any obstacles that went in his way. He refused to succumb to the mirror's influence.

"Stay out of my head!" Harry yelled. "I don't want any of your false promises, especially considering _you're _the one who killed them in the first place!"

"You're brave, I'll give you that." Voldemort said. "But then so were your parents. I remember killing them as if it was yesterday; your father was foolish enough to seek me out instead of trying to run and hide. Your mother on the other hand needn't have died. She was just trying to protect you. But if you want her sacrifice to be in vain, then so be it. Quirrell – kill the boy."

Quirrell grabbed his wand, but before he could utter a single syllable, Harry attacked, sending Quirrell flying with a strong kick. "If you think I'm just going to stand by and let you kill me, you're insane."

What followed was an interesting battle; Harry, still devoid of his wand, was forced to rely on his shinobi training to attack to make sure Quirrell couldn't gather the magic/concentration needed to perform spells, and to make sure he was able to avoid any spells that were unleashed. But at the same time, it made it harder for Harry to perform jutsus so Harry decided to stick with taijutsu for this battle. It was when Harry landed a punch to the man's jaw that Harry found a weakness he could exploit; where he had touched, the skin was blistering and burnt. Obviously skin to skin contact was very bad for Quirrell/Voldemort. But at the same time, when Harry touched Quirrell, the headache that he always got in the man's presence became a stabbing pain in his scar. Harry grit his teeth against the pain and mentally prepared himself for what he had to do. With a mighty war cry, Harry dove at the possessed man and latched on to his wrist, throwing the teacher to the ground and twisting Quirrell's arm behind his back, pinning the man in place with his knee on the man's back. Using his other hand, Harry reached around to grab the man's face and touch every inch of skin he could reach.

Quirrell screamed in agony as he was being burnt, in too much pain to do anything but buck wildly and try to make the boy release him. But Harry held firm, eventually releasing his own agonized cries as his scar throbbed and bled, feeling as though someone was pressing a white-hot poker against his forehead. Eventually Quirrell's movements slowed down and then stopped as the man passed out from pain. Harry let go of the man, barely finding the strength to crawl away to try and ease his own pain. But Harry was distracted from his fight with unconsciousness as he saw a dark mist rise up from Quirrell's body. Quirrell looked like he was having a seizure as his body went through violent spasms. Finally the mist condensed, gaining the form of Voldemort's face. Harry watched through heavily-lidded eyes Quirrell's eyes opened in shock, and the light died in them. Though Harry was too out of it to realize it then, at that moment Quirrell died. The mist/Voldemort fled, leaving Harry on the floor, finally losing the battle to unconsciousness.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I know that Quirrell was only checking to see what the security measures were and wasn't planning to steal it yet in canon. But he's infused with Lord Voldemort, and I very much doubt that Voldemort would waste an opportunity when it's presented to him. Besides, Snape now knows that he's after the stone, so might as well make the most of it.

Secondly, the mirror hasn't been moved yet in canon. It should technically still be in an abandoned room, waiting for Harry to stumble across it during the winter holidays. Well, obviously that's not the case here.

Now some of you are wondering where the teachers were, since Dumbledore didn't get the fake letter from the ministry and it doesn't take _that _long to deal with a troll. You will find out next chapter.

Next chapter: fallout from Halloween and quidditch


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: thanks to all those that reviewed! Now to those wondering what's going to happen since Quirrell is already taken care of – remember, Sirius Black is still on the loose!

Also, this chapter is dedicated to Demonic-Dragon-Eyed-Chick, both because she's my awesome beta and because she happened to be the 100th reviewer! (I just kinda wish I could've dedicated a more exciting chapter to her...)

* * *

Harry awoke to find himself in the hospital wing. He groaned as he tried to sit up; his body stiff and sore. He wondered how long he was out for – hopefully not long, or else Naruto would have been worried. He knew from experience how disconcerting it was to arrive at the dream scape just to find your brother sleeping. It was unavoidable really – even though they could mentally stay awake for a whole week at a time, they had to let their minds rest sometime. But they tried to mentally sleep at the same time, so they could spend more time together in the dream scape. If one of them didn't sleep according to the schedule, the other knew that it was usually because something happened and their minds needed time to process it. So depending on how long he'd been out, Naruto might be very worried.

"Oh! Thank goodness you're awake!" Madam Pomphrey exclaimed, having just left her office to check up on him. "You've been out for two days." Suddenly the medi-witch's demeanor changed from concerned to reprimanding. "And just what did you think you doing, running off on your own like that! The whole school was scared to death! You'd best listen to your teacher's next time – when they say a corridor is forbidden, they mean it's forbidden! At least you haven't snuck into the forbidden forest yet!"

Harry refrained from saying that the only reason he hadn't was because of the dementors; Harry was sure that it would have made an ideal training ground for his ninja training otherwise.

"Well, here is some food. Be sure to eat it all, I want the plate empty when I get back. The Headmaster asked me to inform him when you woke up." And after placing a tray of food on his lap, Madame Pomphrey went back to her office. She emerged around fifteen minutes with Headmaster Dumbledore in tow. After another reminder to eat all the food, Madame Pomphrey left the two to their own devices. Dumbledore grabbed a chair and then settled himself at Harry's bedside.

"I know that you had just woken up, but I was hoping you could tell me what happened on Halloween."

So Harry talked about everything that had happened – about them missing the feast, about seeing Snape go to the third floor, the fact that nobody was in the Great Hall when they tried to get a teacher and their decision to go after the culprit. The only things Harry refrained from talking about were his taijutsu skills, and what he had seen in the mirror. Dumbledore was silent throughout the entire tale, just making non-committal noises and/or nodding every now and then.

When Harry was finally finished, Dumbledore leaned back and looked off in the distance, processing what he had just heard. Harry meanwhile was studying the headmaster. His encounter with Voldemort left him with quite a few questions, and who better to ask than the man in front of him. After all, Dumbledore was regarded as the smartest and most powerful wizard of the age.

"Professor? I have a few questions I was rather hoping you could answer for me." Harry ventured.

"Oh?" Dumbledore asked, focusing his attention back to Harry. "Well ask away; I promise to answer truthfully, but I reserve the right not to answer a question if I feel that the response is best left unknown."

"Fair enough." Harry agreed. Harry started with the most pressing question. "Voldemort said that my mother needn't have died, that she was just protecting me. But that means that I was already a target when I was just a baby, before I became the Boy-Who-Lived. Why would he be after me in the first place?"

Dumbledore looked torn, mentally debating with himself before turning back to Harry. "Alas! The first question you ask is one I can't answer. Maybe when you're older I will tell you the reason."

Harry looked back at Dumbledore, briefly considering to let the matter drop and then look into it later. Just as quickly Harry rejected the idea. For whatever reason Voldemort was after him, and had been after him for far longer than Harry had ever thought. Harry wanted, no, needed, to know the truth. And he hated it when things were kept from it.

"With all due respect Professor," Harry said "I cannot wait until I am older. For whatever reason Voldemort is targeting me, and I feel that I should know why, if for no other reason than to arm myself against him. It's unfair that I should have my life in danger without even knowing why."

"Harry, you are only eleven years old. For the moment forget about Voldemort. The stone was destroyed, so he has no reason to return to Hogwarts. Enjoy yourself; play quidditch, laugh with your friends and sleep in during the weekends. Do not be so eager to grow up so fast. Instead relish in your youth. When you are older, I promise that I will tell you all you need to know."

Harry frowned; it was obvious that Dumbledore wasn't going to tell him what he wanted to know just yet. Knowing there was nothing he could do about it, Harry moved onto his next question, making a mental note to try and find out the answer on his own.

"What do you mean the Stone was destroyed? Voldemort wasn't able to get it, so it should still be in the mirror. And besides, don't you have to ask Nicholas Flamel for permission first?"

"Oho! You knew about Nicholas?" Dumbledore asked, pleasantly surprised. "While it's true that the stone received no damage from Voldemort's attempted theft, Nicholas and I decided that it would be best if any future attempts were stopped before they started and that the stone ought to be disposed of. Nicholas and his wife have enough elixir to sort out their affairs, and then eventually they will die."

Harry's eyes widened as he realized the implications of Dumbledore's statement. Obviously Nicholas Flamel was using the elixir of life the stone produced to be immortal. And with the stone destroyed, there would be no more elixir, so no more immortality. And all the gold the stone made would probably revert back to its original state without the magic of the stone to keep it as gold. Harry spared a thought about how old Flamel might be if he'd been living off of the elixir of life. "It must be scary to realize that your death is at hand after you've lived as an immortal..." Harry mused.

"Ah, but that's the problem with humans." Dumbledore replied "After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all - the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things which are worst for them."

Harry thought over Dumbledore's words. While he could see the wisdom in them, he couldn't agree with them wholeheartedly. Harry couldn't really picture himself embracing death; he enjoyed being part of the land of the living, thank you very much!

"Are Ron, Neville, and Hermione okay?" Harry asked.

"Yes, your friends are all fine; Mr. Weasley had a minor concussion but after spending some time under Madame Pomphrey's excellent care he was right as rain in no time. They are currently in class and eagerly awaiting word of your consciousness."

The reminder of classes made Harry think of something else. "Quirrell...he's dead isn't he?"

"Yes..." Dumbledore confirmed, his head bowed in respect for the dead. "The strain of Voldemort leaving his body was too much for him to handle."

"What's going to happen to our defense against the dark arts class?" Harry asked.

"Well for the rest of the week I will be teaching the class." Dumbledore replied. "But the new teacher will be teaching come Monday."

Harry wondered how Dumbledore was able to find someone on such short notice, but shrugged the thought away. Just then Dumbledore started talking again.

"Well, I know what happened to you on Halloween, but perhaps it's time to learn what happened to the rest of the school. You will hear about it sooner or later anyway, and its best to hear it all now before you face the student body."

* * *

"What were the teachers doing all that time? And why weren't they in the Great Hall when you went to get them?" Naruto asked after hearing Harry's side of the story from what happened on Halloween.

When Naruto arrived in the dream scape to the sight of a conscious Harry, Naruto wasted no time in jumping his older brother and unloading his worry and curiosity aver what had happened. Harry told Naruto everything, this time including his taijutsu fighting and what he had seen in the mirror. Naruto had had the same reaction as his older brother when Harry got the dream scape to produce the image he had seen in the mirror. They had spent long minutes just staring at the image while Harry and Naruto drew comfort in each other and the knowledge that they had each other, if not their parents.

"Well, apparently late into the feast Quirrell interrupted it, storming into the Great Hall proclaiming that a troll broke into the school and was wreaking havoc in the dungeons. The students were all to go back to their dorms (except for the Slytherins who went to the library since their dorms are in the dungeons) while the teachers searched for and subdued the troll. Quirrell took that opportunity to go to the third floor corridor and try and steal the stone. Snape, who had suspected something of Quirrell, went there to head him off. So by the time we headed back to the Great Hall, it was already empty and we just caught sight of Snape leaving towards the third floor corridor."

"Are you sure that's why he went?" Naruto asked, not liking the potions professor for no other reason than he was mean to his aniki "How do you know he wasn't Quirrell's partner in crime until Quirrell double-crossed him? Or maybe Snape just wanted to steal the stone himself but Quirrell stopped him so he could get it first."

"That's what I said!" Harry replied "But Dumbledore said he was positive that Snape was acting in Hogwarts' best interest and wasn't after the stone himself. Anyway, the troll was taken care of within half an hour. But when they went back to the main hallway the teachers found the whole Gryffindor house there. Apparently, the troll wasn't the only thing that got into the castle that night. Sirius Black also got in and forced his way into Gryffindor tower while the feast was going on. The Fat Lady's portrait was torn to shreds, but the Fat Lady herself is alright and was able to name Sirius Black as the culprit. No one was hurt since he was gone before any of the students returned, but the Gryffindor's were unwilling to stay in the tower without a teacher present just then and returned to the Great Hall. Then the professors noticed that me, Ron, Hermione and Neville had gone missing, which started a huge panic since everybody thought that Sirius Black had either kidnapped us, killed us, or both. So all the students were brought back into the Great Hall to make sure no one else was missing while the teachers not guarding the Great Hall searched for us, even going into the forbidden forest. Finally Neville, who had gone to get a professor while Hermione was staying with Ron and while I was fighting Quirrell, bumped into Flitwick. It wasn't long afterwards that Dumbledore came down and found me unconscious next to Quirrell's body. Then I was taken to the hospital wing, and you know the rest."

Naruto was silent for a while, processing everything he just heard. Harry meanwhile was thinking over everything that happened and what it would mean for the future. His musings were interrupted by Naruto.

"Harry…?" Harry looked towards the blond in curiosity. Rarely had his eternally optimistic little brother used that uncertain and small tone of voice.

"Yes Naruto?"

"I -...I'm glad you're alright." Naruto said softly but wholeheartedly as he wrapped his older brother in a hug. Harry wrapped his arms around Naruto in turn and savored the moment – Harry and Naruto may love each other dearly, but they rarely ever put it in words or indulged in sappy moments like this one; they just knew. Harry never wanted to scare his little brother like that again, and would have to study harder so he could defend himself, his friends and Naruto if he ever needed to.

Naruto gently pulled back from the hug and looked over Harry one last time to make sure his brother was safe and whole. And then he opened his mouth.

"It sucked that you could have died, but I bet it was pretty exciting, huh?" Naruto said "That had to be at least a B-ranked mission, maybe even A-rank! How does it feel to beat up the bad guys and stuff? Did you get an award or something? I can't wait until I'm a ninja and can fight bad guys like you!"

Harry bit back his exasperated sigh as Naruto thoroughly ruined the heartfelt moment. Sometimes his little brother could be so energetic and loud it would get on Harry's nerves. But as he watched the blond become more animated and excited the longer he talked, Harry couldn't help but smile. He couldn't imagine Naruto being any other way.

* * *

Harry flanked by Ron, Hermione, and Neville climbed their way to the top of the Gryffindor stands. Harry had been released from the hospital wing yesterday evening and was spending his first day of freedom, and the first Saturday of November, with the majority of the students that had come out to see the first quidditch game of the year; Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff. Next weekend Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor quidditch team would play Slytherin in their first game of the season. Oliver Wood, the team captain for Gryffindor, would have killed Harry if he hadn't shown up, despite the fact that his position didn't have to worry about strategy half as much as the other players, chasers in particular. But it was still entertaining to watch and Harry made a mental note of which beaters hit the hardest and with the most accuracy. Harry felt better once he realized he wouldn't have to worry so much; even if the other beaters were almost, or just as good as the Weasley twins individually, what made Fred and George so successful was the way they could play off each other and anticipate the other's moves perfectly. Harry would be pretty well protected. Ron meanwhile had taken the opportunity to explain some details about quidditch to Hermione who just didn't seem to understand what the big deal was and had just come to be with her friends. This was made even more obvious when she pulled out a thick tome, reading while everybody else sat at the edge of their seat, cheering as the game played out before them.

Harry tuned them out as he enjoyed the game. Even though he was nervous about playing in front of the whole school, he couldn't wait for next weekend – he loved flying and playing quidditch. And he couldn't wait to play in a real game instead of the mock ones they sometimes did in practice.

Suddenly the Hufflepuff seeker went into a sharp dive. Harry could barely see the small glint of gold that signified where the snitch was zipping along, the Hufflepuff seeker hot in pursuit and the Ravenclaw seeker valiantly trying to catch up. Almost everybody in stands stood up and leaned over, trying to get a better view of what was happening as Lee Jorden provided commentary and those in the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff stand screamed themselves hoarse. But a well aimed bludger from one of the Ravenclaw beater's ended the chase before the Hufflepuff seeker could catch the snitch; and in the time it took for the seeker to get back on track the snitch was gone. There was a heartfelt groan from the Hufflepuff stands as the Ravenclaw's cheered on their beater for the excellent hit.

"See?!" Ron exclaimed to Hermione, who was still paying more attention to her book than to the game. "See how exciting quidditch is! How can you be reading at a time like this?!"

"Because I just don't find it interesting!" Hermione snapped, tired of Ron interrupting her reading time. "When Harry plays next week, then I'll leave my book in my dormitory, but right now I just want to read.

And if you pester me again, I will leave and go back to the library where I can read in peace and not freeze to death!"

"What are you talking about? It's not that cold..." Ron replied, uncertain at the sudden cold temperature when it was perfectly warm a few moments ago.

But Harry had to agree with Hermione on that one; it felt like it got 15 degrees colder in the last five minutes. Beside him Neville was also shaking and shivering. When the teachers that had come to watch the game stood up, pulling out their wands, Harry knew that something was definitely wrong. The cold became mind-numbing and Harry had trouble staying focused. Everyone else seemed to be affected, but not to the same degree as he and Neville who looked as bad as Harry felt. Through his hazy vision, Harry could see a mass of dark forbidding robed figures gliding onto the pitch.

'Dementors...' Harry thought, before he was lost to the darkness.

* * *

"_Please not Harry! Take me instead; kill me, but don't kill my baby!"_

"_Stand aside you foolish girl!"_

"_Have mercy!"_

"_I said stand aside!"_

Harry woke with a start. He looked around and let out a groan when he realized that to his dismay, he was back in the hospital wing. On the bed next to him was Neville, who gave him a small smile and wave. There were a few others from various houses and years, but unlike him and Neville, they were dressed in their school uniforms and looked like they were restraining themselves from running out the door. Only the hospital wing's matron's sharp eyes stopped them as she handed out chocolate and checked up on them, occasionally giving a student the okay to leave.

"Mr. Potter, I know you have been enjoying our talks on healing magic, but if you wanted to spend more time here you could have just asked instead of landing yourself unconscious in a bed for the second time in one week." Madame Pomphrey teased as she came over to check on her patient.

Harry let out a weak smile. "What happened? Is everybody alright?"

"Yes, everybody's alright. Those ghastly creatures went against Dumbledore's orders and dared come onto the school grounds. I don't know what the minister was thinking, placing those horrors around a _school! _What if a student was hurt; or even worse had their soul sucked out! I don't trust those things and I'm appalled that the minister won't let Dumbledore get rid of them!"

Just then a skinny tired-looking man came up to them. "Madame Pomphrey; Mr. Davis is ready to leave, he's just waiting for a final check up."

The school medi-witch excused herself as she went to give the sixth year Ravenclaw a final check up. Harry turned his attention back to the man who had just spoken; he was around 5'11", with light brown hair that contained a few speckles of grey, despite the man looking to be only in his thirties. His skin was rather pale and drawn, like he was sick a lot or worried often, or both. But the man's golden brown eyes were kind and gentle as he looked at Harry, handing the first-year a piece of chocolate.

"Here you go; there's no better cure for dementor exposure than chocolate." The man said, giving Harry a warm smile.

"Thank you sir." Harry replied as he tried to think of a polite way to ask who he was. But the man apparently read his mind since he answered Harry's question before it was asked.

"I don't suppose you know who I am; I wasn't supposed to be introduced to the school until tonight at dinner. I'm Remus Lupin, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. After what happened in the quidditch pitch, I volunteered to help out in the hospital wing since I know some basic healing. Most students are already gone by now and in an hour or so you two will be the only ones here." Remus said, addressing Harry and Neville.

"What? Why are we the only ones that are spending the night? Didn't the dementors affect everybody? And why were they even on the school grounds if they weren't allowed to be?" Harry asked.

"As I'm sure you already know, dementors feed off of people's emotions. The excitement and joy in the air from the quidditch game was a veritable feast for them, and was too much for them to resist. But what you must understand is that the dementors not only feed on your happiness, joy and other positive emotions – they also bring out and amplify negative emotions and memories like sadness and despair. For that reason those with tragic pasts will be most affected by dementors compared to those that have had happy and pleasant lives." Lupin explained.

"B-but we can't be the only ones with something bad that happened to them." Neville argued "so why do we have to stay in the hospital wing?"

"Because you two were the only ones who passed out." Lupin replied. "Don't look like that; it is nothing to be ashamed of. The last decade was one of peace in the wizarding world, and few students have known the pain of losing a family member like you two have. But I think what made you two pass out was the fact that your bad memories happened when you were so young."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Well, when something traumatic happens that is repressed or forgotten by someone, being suddenly forced to remember it is hard on the psyche. It will probably be difficult for you two to face dementors just because the memory that's stirred up is a very old one that was previously forgotten."

"But once the memory isn't forgotten anymore, will it be easier to face a dementor?" Harry asked.

Lupin frowned as he thought it over. "It probably won't make you pass out again, but considering the severity of your memories, you'll both still be highly affected."

"Mr. Lupin!" Madame Pomphrey called as she walked over to them.

"Yes?"

"Everybody is off to their dormitories except these two of course. I wanted to thank you for your help and the use of your chocolate; I'm glad we finally have a defence against the dark arts professor who knows what they're doing and had the forethought to bring something that might be needed. Anyway, I was hoping that you could go down to Hogsmead for me and get some more chocolate for the hospital wing; I will be ordering for some tomorrow of course, but I'll feel better if the hospital wing has a supply of its own ready and I couldn't possibly deplete your stash any more than I already have. I would go myself, but I don't want to leave these two on their own." Madame Pomphrey explained handing the man a pouch full of money.

"Of course." Lupin agreed good naturedly. "I'd be more than happy to comply." And with that he strode out of the hospital wing. Madame Pomphrey went back to her office after checking over the two gryffindors one last time, leaving Neville and Harry alone. After a few minutes of silence, Neville spoke.

"Harry?" Neville asked.

"Yeah Nev?"

"Wha– what did the dementors make you remember?"

Harry looked over at Neville and thought how to answer that. On one hand, it was a private memory and besides telling Naruto, Harry hadn't planned on talking to anyone else about it. But the fact that Neville was lying on the bed next to him and that he always talked about his Gran but not his parents allowed Harry to have a good guess as to Neville's memory. And if Neville wanted to talk about it, it wouldn't be fair if Harry held back. Not to mention that with all the books and articles written about the night

Voldemort fell, Neville and the rest of the world probably had a pretty accurate guess as to what the dementors made Harry remember anyway.

"I didn't remember any images; just sounds. I heard my mother arguing with Voldemort and then Voldemort killing her. That's what the dementors made me remember."

"Oh." Neville said, not sounding very surprised but still sympathetic. After a few minutes of silence, Neville spoke again, sounding small and uncertain.

"M-my dad was an auror. My Gran always talks about how strong and brave he was. And after You-Know-Who fell, my Gran said that everyone relaxed and was happy. But a few days after his defeat, some death eaters broke into our house. Th-they came in and t-tortured my parents until they went insane. Even now when I visit them in St. Mungo's, th-they don't even recognize me! M-my Gran says that my mom hid me, and that's why I didn't get hurt. B-but when the dementors came, I could hear them screaming! And it was horrible! I-it just went on and on, and never stopped! I-I..."

Neville stopped talking as his sobs overwhelmed him. He curled in on himself and cried as he remembered the awful sounds of his parents being tortured. Harry didn't have much experience with people, and was usually reserved around everybody except for Naruto. But with Neville curled into a ball and shaking and sobbing, Harry couldn't help but react the same way he would for his little brother. Harry silently climbed out of his bed and made his way to Neville's. He settled himself and then pulled Neville closer to him as the blond uncurled enough to grab onto his friend. They stayed like that until Neville's sobs slowed down and their eyes became heavy. Finally they both fell asleep.

* * *

"Harry! Neville!" Hermione cried out as she got up and gave both boys a hug. "We were just going to steal some food for you guys and visit!"

"Thanks Hermione," Harry replied "but we convinced Madame Pomphrey to let us go early enough to eat with you guys at breakfast. Mind moving over a bit? I'm starving!"

Their meal was interrupted a few minutes later with the arrival of Malfoy flanked by his two friends/bodyguards.

"Well, well, look who it is. I heard that the dementors scared you so bad that you and _Lard_bottom passed out! So much for Gryffindor bravery!"

Harry turned around half-heartedly; he didn't feel like dealing with Malfoy and his prissy ways right now. So it was to his pleasure and everybody else's surprise that Neville spoke up before Harry had a chance to.

"Shut up Malfoy! You don't know what you're talking about! A-and besides, how can you say anything about being brave when you always have Crabbe and Goyle with you – it's you whose too afraid to do anything alone!"

Everyone at the Gryffindor table cheered as Malfoy glared at Neville, not liking the fact that he was told off by Longbottom of all people. But before Malfoy could retaliate, McGonagall arrived and made sure nothing else would happen.

While everybody was congratulating Neville "for getting rid of the slimy slytherins", Harry turned to Hermione.

"So what did we miss yesterday?" he asked as he reached for some more food.

"Well, after the dementors came onto the field everybody started to panic. The teacher's went out to confront them and used a spell I didn't recognize – but it shot out these silver animals that kept the dementors at bay and made them move back. Then Dumbledore came out and used the same spell and a giant silver phoenix came out and together they made the dementors retreat to the school borders. Everyone was ushered to the Great Hall for some chocolate and hot cocoa, and the people who had the worst reactions had to go the infirmary to be checked out. Oh! And last night at dinner Dumbledore introduced the new DADA professor."

"Remus Lupin, I know. He was helping Madame Pomphrey in the hospital wing. She seems to think he's fairly competent, so hopefully he's a good teacher." Harry said.

"Mate, who cares if he's a good teacher or not; he's already got my approval!" Ron interrupted. "You should've seen Snape glare at him last night throughout dinner; it made the glares he gives you look like nothing! And anyone that Snape hates that much has got to be good!"

Harry pulled out of the conversation before he was forced to take sides as Ron and Hermione argued on the evilness of Snape and what made a good teacher. He wanted to go to the library after breakfast and look up a few things – namely mind magic, since he wanted to know how Voldemort read his mind and more importantly know how to prevent him from doing it in the future. He also wanted to look up dementors and that spell the professors used to drive them back. Harry finished the rest of his meal and stood up, ready to get stronger so he could protect himself and those he cared about.

* * *

A/N: aww...two big brother!Harry moments in one chapter!...I'm getting soft and emotional in my old age...

Now another question and answer session, provided by the good questions brought to you by the lovely reviewers.

**Why would Harry even go after the Stone? I mean he has no reason save it, especially for either Flamel's or Dumbledore's behalf. It wouldn't have affected him at all and isn't very shinobi-like. **

Oh that, well there's a perfectly reasonable...LOOK! A DISTRACTION! (runs away while you look the other way)

Seriously though, I suppose you're right and Harry doesn't have a strong reason like he did in canon since he didn't know that Voldemort was going to use it to be reborn and kill him, nor does he have the same admiration and respect for Dumbledore as in canon. So I'm just going to blame it on Harry's insatiable curiosity and the fact that no matter how much Harry (and Naruto for that matter) think of themselves as ninja, they follow their own sets of rules and morals. They'd both be more than willing to bend and break rules for something they felt was right. And besides, Harry wanted to know what the deal was with the forbidden corridor anyway, and this gave him a good excuse to do some digging. He wanted to know what the mysterious object was and how it could affect him. He also considered the likely possibility that it would be used against him, considering that Snape (who they were originally following) showed open disdain for him, Quirrell (who he assumed also went after it after seeing Snape unconscious) was definitely hiding something and then there was the fact that Sirius Black, who was also supposedly after him, was also in the area. So it was to his benefit to find out about the mysterious object so that it couldn't be used against him, and/or if he could manage it, so he could use it himself.

**Poor Harry! He already was involved with someone's death! How's he going to deal with that? **

As you guys have already seen, I don't have a scene where Harry really comes to terms about Quirrell's death and his own role in it. So this is what I'm going to say in regards to that: Since Harry was practically comatose with pain and exhaustion at the time it seemed more like a dream than reality, so it didn't hit Harry as hard as it could have. Secondly, because of his shinobi lessons he knew that death was a part of life and that he was taking lessons on how to be a killer (though it's true that those lessons wouldn't have had the same effect on Harry as Naruto who lives in a hidden village and isn't new to that idea). Also, Harry knew that he was only acting in self-defence; Quirrell/Voldemort was trying to kill Harry and Harry was just trying to survive. And lastly, it wasn't Harry that actually killed Quirrell but Voldemort. Harry damaged Quirrell until the teacher was weak and unconscious, but it was Voldemort leaving his host's body that killed the ex-professor.

Harry knows all that and so Quirrell's death isn't going to affect him overly so (if it affects him at all). I might however refer back to Quirrell's death and how Harry came to terms with it when Naruto seeks out Harry for support after the blond's first kill.

Next chapter: Christmas


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: So, first of all sorry about the long wait. Though I already knew I wouldn't have much time to update during the summer, I had thought that I'd be able to post at least one or two chapters. Secondly, I'm assuming that Hogwarts would have a yearbook and that it's library would contain at least one copy for each year as well as having a newspaper archive. And if not in canon, it does in this story.

* * *

" – actually, better make it three cases of butterbeer, I swear ickle Harrykins is addicted to the stuff, - "

"Good call dear brother. So three cases of butterbeer, ten bags of Madame Galley's multi-flavoured chips, five boxes of Honeydukes chocolate, - "

" – ooh! And some sugar quills! Not for the party though, just for our private stash, - "

Fred and George Weasley, troublemakers extraordinaire, were currently on their way to Hogsmead via one of the many hidden passages. They were due to have their third quidditch game of the season this weekend against Hufflepuff and the twins wanted to make sure they were well stocked for the celebration party. It might seem rather pigheaded and cocky to prepare for the victory party before playing the actual game, but the twins wanted everything to be ready by the time they were off the field and out of the changerooms, and everybody in the school knew that this year's Gryffindor team was easily the strongest in the school (even if they didn't want to admit it).

"Don't forget that Alicia wanted us to get some more Be- "

Fred was cut off mid sentence when he bumped into something solid.

"Good evening Mr.'s Weasley. Care to explain what brings you two out here tonight?"

Fred and George looked up to see the face of their new DADA instructor, Professor Lupin. They recovered from their shock rather quickly – which is expected from two teenagers who are so often in trouble.

"Professor Lupin! What a pleasure to find you here!"

"Indeed, my marvellous brother and I were just talking about the best professor we've ever had, and lo and behold, here you are!"

But before the twins became too extravagant in their hopes to charm their way out of trouble, Lupin interrupted them.

"And how, may I ask, did you find out about this tunnel that conveniently leads to Honeydukes?"

"Ah! Fine question, though I didn't expect anything less from our esteemed defence against the dark arts professor! It all started when my wonderful twin and I were innocently taking a stroll, well before curfew you understand, - "

Fred then started a long convoluted anecdote while George took the opportunity to slip behind his twin and discreetly 'erase' a piece of parchment that was currently in his hand, the marauder's map – a map they had _relieved_ Filch of in their first year that showed the layout of the whole castle, its secret passages and the location of its inhabitants. Fred and George owed a lot to Prongs, Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail – otherwise known as The Marauders and the creators of the map. Without them they wouldn't have gotten away with half of the things they've done. It also helped that the four marauders also provided many ideas and stories since they had imbued the map with their personalities.

Before going on one of their "extracurricular adventures", the twins always made sure to check the map for the location of the teachers and prefects to make sure that there was no one in their way. As George whispered the password, thus making the map erase itself and seem like nothing more than a spare bit of parchment, he saw how Lupin's presence had caught them by surprise; they were currently so far along the tunnel that they were off the map. And considering that Lupin was headed towards Hogwarts, he had probably been in Hogsmead (and therefore off the map already) when they had originally checked if the coast was clear before leaving. But just when George straightened out again from behind his brother, Lupin reached around and took the map from him. Fred and George were almost too shocked and upset about the loss of their beloved map to miss Lupin's surprising reaction to it.

"Where did you get this?" the professor asked, his voice thick with emotion as he gazed at the map. Fred and George shared a look; was that recognition in the professor's eyes?

"What that? It's just a spare bit of parchment. If you don't mind, I'm running low on school supplies, parchment especially (which was why we were on our way to Hogsmead by the way), so if I could have that back it would be much appreciated. After all every bit counts. " George fibbed hoping to get the map back.

Lupin just gave them a long look, obviously considering something. Just when Fred was going to break the silence, the professor tapped his wand against the confiscated parchment and calmly spoke the code phrase to activate the map as if he's done it a million times before.

The twins just spluttered in shock, unable to process what they were seeing as Lupin just as calmly (if not a bit more smugly and happily) cleared the map and secured the item in his cloak. He then turned his attention back to the two boys.

"Well it seems that this bit of parchment already has writing on it. Not to worry, I have plenty enough parchment in my office to tide both of you over until the next Hogsmead weekend at the very least. Next time you find yourself in need of school supplies just ask your classmates or teachers for some. As for you two sneaking out, I'll tell you what; since we are technically off of school property, I won't deduct points or dole out detentions _this time_. However, this is no time to go wandering off on your own; in case you two have forgotten, Sirius Black is currently on the loose and has already made his way into Hogwarts once already. There's no telling whether he knows about the secret passageways or not, so from now on I'll be monitoring them and the map. Should I see you boys sneaking out, I will assign so many detentions you won't have time to even think about sneaking out again. Understood?"

Fred and George nodded glumly as their professor ushered them back towards the school. Though the twins were upset that their raid had been interrupted and that the map was confiscated, they now had something else to occupy their minds; like how the professor knew how to use the map and what he knew of the marauders.

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"Hey guys! You'll never guess what happened!" Kiba exclaimed to his fellow skipping buddies, Akamaru yipping enthusiastically with his owner.

"What? Is it a cool jutsu? An awesome secret? What is it?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"My mom says that my bond with Akamaru is almost strong enough to learn some clan techniques! Soon me and Akamaru are going to learn the Juujin Bushin technique! And then Akamaru can start training with me when I learn the clan's taijutsu moves and it will two against one more than ever!"

"What do you mean? A bushin is a clone, and they can't fight 'cuz they're just stupid illusions anyway." Naruto said, not hiding his derision at the technique he still hadn't mastered yet.

"Well the Juujin Bushin technique is _way _better than the stupid bushin no jutsu we have to do in the academy! Instead of creating a fake clone that can't even do anything, Akamaru will become my clone! And this way he can fight too and it will like there are two of me!" Kiba explained.

"But I thought you can't create solid clones! And if Akamaru just looked like you, wouldn't it just be a henge?" Naruto asked.

"No, it's not just a henge!" Kiba retorted angrily "A henge just changes how something or someone looks, not how they are. Besides, it's possible to make solid clones like water clones and earth clones, even if they aren't very durable. But my clan's technique is way better than those stupid clones - with help from our bond, me and Akamaru will be able to share chakra and change so we sort of mix; it will be like two more animalistic me. Mom says the bond should be strong enough by next year and I'll have the technique down by the time I'm a genin. I'll probably have to depend on soldier pills to do it for a while, but when I get older I should be able to do it more easily."

"So you both actually change physically?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Of course! It'll only last until we run out of chakra or get too much damage and then we'll go back to the way we were, but until then we are changed and can kick some major butt! And when I get older, we'll be able to keep that form for longer even when we're hit. This is gonna be so cool!"

Kiba excitedly talked more about all the wicked techniques he was going to learn and all the villains him and Akamaru were going to beat up when they became ninja. Naruto meanwhile was deep in thought. What Kiba said gave him a good idea...

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Harry growled as he threw away the book he was searching through, and reached for the next book in line. It was Christmas Break, and Harry was using the opportunity of so few people being in the castle and the lack of homework for some more independent research. When Sirius Black snuck into Hogwarts two months ago, Harry had made a mental note to find out more about him. After all, he was most likely the prime target of the mass-murderer and it was best to know what he was up against. But he hadn't found any trace of Black's criminal record or trial, just news clippings of Sirius Black's arrest a decade ago and his recent escape. He owled the ministry, pretending that it was for a school project and they hadn't yet gotten back to him, despite the fact that it had almost been two months. Right now he was going through old yearbooks, so frustrated at all the dead ends that Harry was trying to find _any_ mention of the wanted criminal. He was currently on the 1978 graduating year, and he knew he was getting close since the 1979 graduating class had a Regulus Black from Slytherin that was probably a close relation to Sirius Black. Finally, he found Sirius Black, and it wasn't where he thought he'd be.

Harry sat frozen for a full minute as he saw Sirius' name in the Gryffindor section; more importantly he was in the same year as his parents. He barely remembered flipping through the pages, but the images burned into his memory; his father and Sirius Black laughing, faces full of mischief; his father, Sirius Black and two other boys relaxing by the lake; his father and Sirius Black with their arms around each other's shoulder in a brotherly embrace. How was this possible?

Harry put the book down and calmed his breathing. It would do no good to fly off the handle. He picked up the yearbook and studied it again, this time with steady hands and scrutinizing every detail. What he found both surprised him and explained many things.

First of all, one of the other boys that his father and Sirius Black were usually around was none other than Remus Lupin, his current DADA teacher. Secondly Severus Snape, his snarky potions professor was also in the same year. And the fact that in his father's and Sirius' profile they put "slimy slytherins, especially Snivellus" in the things they dislike category; well Harry now had a better understanding why Snape seemed to hate him and Lupin so much. Then there were the things his father and the other three boys that were often in the pictures with him wrote in their comments section; like "long live the Marauders!" and "pranksters for life!" And considering that both Sirius Black and Harry's father put each other as their best friends in their profile, and that there were few pictures of one without the other, obviously Sirius Black coming after him was far more personal than he had ever imagined. But what could have changed the smiling laidback boy in the pictures into the mass-murdering psycho in the

papers? Did something happen in the three years after Hogwarts? Did Sirius and his father have a falling out?

Harry put back the yearbook where he had found it. He needed to go to bed so he could unload on Naruto and get his head in order and maybe get some advice while he was at it. Tomorrow, when his emotions weren't so raw, he'd confront Lupin.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry stared deep in thought at the chess board. He was facing Ron and was losing spectacularly. Even though he knew he had next to no chance at winning, he was determined to take out as many of Ron's pieces as possible. But their game was interrupted by Ron's older brother and fifth year Gryffindor prefect Percy Weasley.

"Ron! If this is the care you show your pets, then you shouldn't have one. Look at Scabbers; he's thin as a stick and losing all his fur! Just what are you doing to him? Are you even feeding him?"

Even though one of the official duties of prefects is dormitory checks, almost no one actually bothers to do the routine check-ups on the dorms besides poking their head in every few weeks/months unless they get a lot of complaints. And even then, they won't do anything as long as people are able to walk around and no contraband items are on display. Percy is one of the few prefects who follow the little rules like that diligently and had just been checking on the first years' boy's dorm when he came across the sickly and emancipated Scabbers; Ron's (and formerly Percy's until this past summer) pet rat.

"Of course I'm feeding him! It's not my fault he's sick! I've even mailed mom and dad to buy some rat tonic from the pet store. They say it's just because he's old. After all, he's been in the family for 10 years!"

"I somehow doubt that! If that were the case then why has Scabbers only been getting worse since he's been your pet? He was perfectly fine during the summer, it was only once he got to Hogwarts, in your care, that he started getting sick. I haven't said anything until now since I thought it just might be a passing illness, but he gets worse and worse every day. I'm going to send a letter with mom and dad asking them to take Scabbers back, since you're obviously not ready for the responsibility of caring for a pet."

Ron stood up angry and insulted at what his brother was saying. "I told you it's not my fault! I've been feeding him every day, I give him medicine, hell, I've even let him sleep on my bed! I am taking care of him!"

Percy proceeded to ignore his youngest brother as he left the common room to send the promised letter, Ron hot on his heels and arguing the whole way. When Ron still hadn't returned a few minutes later, Harry started putting away the chess set Ron had gotten him for Christmas. The red-head had been aghast when he discovered the fact that Harry had never played chess before coming to Hogwarts. Since he got it Ron had been challenging Harry to matches all the time in order to work on his chess skills. Not that Harry didn't appreciate the gift or anything, but the brunette would rather spend his time working on spells and his ninja skills than playing chess.

Other than the chess board from Ron, Harry also got some homemade fudge and a hand-knitted sweater from Mrs. Weasley, a gift certificate for Flourish and Blotts from Hermione, some chocolate frogs, Berty Botts's Every Flavoured Beans and other magical sweets from Neville and an invisibility cloak from an unnamed source which (according to the anonymous gift-giver) had belonged to his father. After finding out Professor Lupin's connection to his father, Harry had at first assumed he was the mysterious source but the writing on the note didn't match the corrections and comments on his DADA essays and tests, so obviously it wasn't him.

Just then his musings were cut short by the appearance of two more Weasley brothers, whose faces lit up at the sight of the solitary boy-hero.

"Harry!" Fred exclaimed, taking no time to throw himself onto the couch on Harry's immediate left.

"Just the man we were looking for!" George continued, mirroring his twin by throwing himself to sit on Harry's right.

"Oh?" Harry replied, his lips twitching to hold back a grin. "And what could pranksters extraordinaire such as you two want with a lowly first year like me?"

"Well," Fred said "rumour has it that you've been looking for Lupin for a talk."

It was true; ever since he found out about the connections between his parents, Sirius Black, Professor Snape and Lupin himself, Harry had been trying to talk to the man about it. Despite it being the beginning of February – over a month since he found out about the connections – he still hadn't been able to have that talk. Either Lupin was busy or sick, or someone else was around. In order to get some privacy from his friends, he told them that he wanted to ask Lupin for private lessons on the patronus spell (the spell that repels dementors) so he wouldn't have to worry about passing out if they come back during another quidditch game (though really, Harry and Naruto were already working on that spell in the dreamscape and Harry would never ask for special lessons from his teacher). Obviously Ron had told his twin brother's about it.

"You see, we also have things we want from Lupin, but unfortunately it is of a rather delicate nature and not the type of thing you can just go up and ask for." George continued.

"But if you happen to be spending time with Lupin anyway, then you can ask things for us, or even keep a lookout for something we might have lost." Fred finished.

Putting on the biggest puppy-dog eyes they could Fred and George let it loose on the first year. "Please Harry? You'll help us out right? That's what family does, helping each other out, and you are our brother of another mother after all."

Although Harry had always liked the Weasley twins from the get-go since they reminded him so strongly of Naruto, they hadn't been that close since they were in separate years. But once Harry joined the quidditch team, they got to know each other better and become friends. And once Christmas came, they decided that Harry was an honorary Weasley and part of the family.

They declared this was so since Harry got the traditional family gift of a hand-knitted sweater and homemade sweets from the Weasley matriarch. Afterwards Fred and George decided to see whether Harry was worthy to be a Weasley by testing such Weasley traits like patience, good humour, bravery and chivalry (well, actually the twins just tried to prank Harry and his friends a lot. According to the twins it was to see how Harry would react, but no one was buying it.). Harry succeeding in impressing the twins by not only dealing with any successful pranks against him with good humour, but also by turning the tables on the troublemakers extraordinaire on several occasions. That and the fact that he was willing to step into the line of fire to save a friend, and that he also retaliated in honour of his friends and himself (and that he was almost always successful in his retaliation), well needless to say that Fred and George were thrilled to consider Harry as family. Ron was even heard complaining that the twins liked Harry better than any of their real brothers.

Although Harry knew that he would probably regret it, he was very curious as to what the twins wanted from Lupin.

"Okay, I'm in. What is it you want?"

Fred and George shared a smug grin before turning to the green-eyed boy. "Let me tell you about something called the Mauraders Map..."

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Naruto stared intensely at the various people walking by from his hiding spot in the branches of a tree on the side of the main road. Ever since Kiba mentioned the transformation technique he and his dog Akamaru were going to learn, the blond got an idea in his head that he was positive would work. He hadn't told anyone about it yet, not even Harry, since he wanted to develop it and perfect it on his own, then surprise everyone with his skill.

He watched as the chunnin on gate duty checked over everyone who entered and left Konoha, looking for any genjutsu's, hidden items and false identities/paperwork. Naruto couldn't help but notice that they were much more professional and stern with men (particularly young and middle-aged men) as opposed to women and children – especially towards young attractive women who smiled a lot and wore revealing clothing. That was also true for those that randomly checked the identification of those already in Konoha on the street (just to make sure that those that were let in were who they said they were and to ensure that no one had found a way to infiltrate the hidden village without the gate guards' notice). The random identification tests were generally for the visitors and those with unfamiliar faces, but even then ninjas tended to focus more on the males versus the females. And the good looking females they did check, weren't given the same intensity and seriousness as the others (usually at least).

Yes, Naruto now had a very good idea what he was going to do with his new jutsu. As if to cement his resolve, something happened that allowed Naruto to find another benefit to his in-the-works jutsu.

"Stop kidding around, you know I'm way better than you are! I deserve to be on the team way more than you!"

Two genin, each in their mid to late teens, were arguing loudly and creating a large audience. Among them was a purple haired kunoichi, no older than the arguing genins, in a beige trench-coat who happened to be conveniently close to Naruto's hiding spot.

"Hey!" the purple-haired women yelled, gaining the attention of a man trying to get through the crowd to break up the fight "What's going on?"

The man sighed before turning to the woman. "Those two idiots are from my genin team. As you know the chunnin exams taking place in Water country are coming up soon and Higashi's team is one short since one of them had made chunnin during the last exams. Higashi asked me if he could borrow one of my students for the exam, and ever since then these two idiots have been at each other's throats wanting to be picked as the one who goes. If it weren't for the fact that Higashi's genins would suffer for it, I'd ban both from taking the exam."

The woman looked thoughtful as she watched the two genins pull out weapons; their argument moving from words to a physical spar. "Well of the two who do you think should go? And what of your third gaki?"

"Yukie-chan is unfortunately the least prepared for the exam. But at least she knows it and doesn't try to push herself into the chunnin exam anyway. Of those two I think Noburomi-kun would be a better choice. Shuko-kun is a slightly better fighter and would probably go farther in the exam, but it's not that big of a gap in level. Considering the fact that I don't think either is ready for the exam, I'd rather send Noburomi since his abilities are more likely to complement Higashi's genins and help them in the exam."

"Hmmm..." the purple-haired teen thought it over and then gave a devious grin that made most who saw it shiver in fear and apprehension. "Don't worry about a thing." the woman said "Leave everything to me."

The purple-haired girl rudely pushed her way to the fighting genin and not so gently separated both boys by grabbing them and throwing them in opposite directions. Before either boy could protest, she started to speak.

"Okay maggots, shut up and listen. I was just talking to your sensei and he told me about the situation regarding the upcoming chuunin exams. So here's the deal; you're going to duel it out right here right now. Whoever wins will go to the chuunin exam and whoever looses will shut their mouth and won't complain. Got it?"

Both boys mutely nodded. The woman grinned sadistically and stepped back from between them. "Okay, GO!"

The two teenagers started fighting once more, Shuko finally managing to gain the upper hand with Noburomi forced to stay on the defensive. Meanwhile, the purple haired woman just watched in amusement until the perfect opportunity arose. Once she saw her chance, her grin became downright evil as she opened her trench-coat, revealing to all that looked that she wore nothing underneath except a very revealing fish-net outfit, with only a short yellow skirt on top. Shuko, who had a perfect view of the woman's bared body, promptly had a nosebleed and paused in his attacks. Naburomi, who had his back to the revealing display, took advantage of his opponent's distraction to win the duel. The woman called out the winner, much to Shuko's protests.

"Shut up brat, and stop being a sore loser. Distractions are a fact of life and if you hope to be a good ninja you have to deal with it. Besides, the deal was that the loser doesn't complain, so close your mouth and stop whining. If you really want to be a chunnin, then train and be ready for the next exams. Now if you'll excuse me, my work here is done." And with that said, she then calmly walked away, smirking at the shocked sensei as she passed him.

"I told you I'd take care of it."

Naruto just grinned from his hiding spot – once he developed his jutsu, he would be _unstoppable_!

* * *

A/N: It's a shorter chapter than usual, but the next one should be longer. I think there will only be two chapters or so left in Harry's first year (finally!). Again I'm sorry for the long wait, but I can't promise it won't happen again.

Unfortunately I didn't get around to reading all your lovely reviews so there won't be a Q&A section this chapter, but feel free to ask or re-ask any questions you have; if that question comes up a lot or I think that it's a good question I'll post the question and response at the end of the next chapter.

Thanks again for reading!


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: O.k., I'll I can say right now is please don't kill me...(you'll see why...)

* * *

"AAAAGGGGHHHH!"

Harry's eyes snapped open at the sound of the scream and he quickly jumped out of bed. He was able to see the form of an adult running out of the dormitory. Harry ran after it, ignoring the confused and half-asleep heads that poked outside the doors as he sprinted down the staircase to the common rooms. He was able to see the torn portrait of the Fat Lady, but by the time he reached the outside corridor the figure was nowhere to be seen.

When he got back to his dormitory, everyone was up and surrounded Ron who was sounding very scared and desperate.

"I'm telling the truth! Sirius Black was here with a knife! He was going to kill me!"

"Yeah right firstie!" A fifth year boy said. "It doesn't seem likely that _the _Sirius Black, who killed how many people, decides not to kill you just because you happened to wake up."

"He's right you know." Seamus Finnegan, a fellow first year Gryffindor said. "You probably just had a bad dream or something."

"I know what I saw, and it was him! And no, it wasn't just a nightmare!" Ron defended himself.

"Well I don't know about Sirius Black, but there was definitely someone who tore open the Fat Lady's portrait." Harry declared.

Suddenly everybody got up and ran to the common room to see if Harry spoke the truth; and sure enough it was just like the scene they came across all those months ago on Halloween.

It wasn't long before the professors were called in and everybody was ushered to the Great Hall while the teachers searched high and low for the mass-murderer. Harry lay down in his sleeping bag, wondering about Sirius Black.

This was the second time the mass-murderer found his way into the school, and the second time nobody got hurt. It sounded completely different from the way the felon was supposed to act according to the papers, and Harry just couldn't understand why that was. According to the archived copies of the wizarding newspaper _The Daily Prophet_ in the library, on the day of his arrest Black killed 13 muggles just to get to one wizard; his former friend Peter Pettigrew. So then why did he run away once Ron woke up, since he could have easily killed him before the red-head had a chance to scream and wake up everyone else. Then it would have been child's play disposing the rest of the defenseless and sleeping boys in his dorm; Harry included (on that note, Harry decided that he and Naruto would have to practice waking up at a moment's notice). And why would Black choose Halloween as one of the days to infiltrate the Gryffindor tower; as a Hogwarts alumni he'd have known that it would have been devoid of students at that time. And he obviously hadn't been going for the ambush angle since he made no attempt at masking his presence by shredding the Fat Lady's portrait. Ron guessed that Azkaban must have messed with the man's brain, but Harry wasn't so sure. If that was the case, wouldn't he have gotten caught already due to his carelessness? If anything, Black was being careful not to harm any students.

Harry let out a sigh and pushed those questions to the back of his head. He really needed to corner Lupin soon since the number of questions he wanted to ask where increasing by the day.

* * *

Harry had been trying to find some time alone with the defence against the dark arts professor for his inquisition, but between the professor being absent, Harry being busy or just neither being alone at the time – well it was now almost a full two months since going through the old yearbooks. And even now as Harry went to stop by Lupin's office the professor wasn't alone; Professor Snape was present, handing the sandy-haired man a smoking goblet full of some sort of potion. Harry debated coming back later; on one hand he really didn't want to waste this opportunity – he was determined to get to the bottom of this Sirius Black thing if it was the last thing he did. On the other hand he really didn't like or trust Professor Snape and wished to keep this conversation private.

Thankfully he didn't have to do anything.

"If that is all," Snape sneered, taking back the now empty goblet "I'll be leaving. And next time Lupin, come down yourself for your potion – I'm not a delivery boy and refuse to coddle you as Albus insists on doing." He left quickly without waiting for a retort.

Lupin just stared bemusedly at where the sour man stormed off to for a moment before snapping out of it and turning his attention to Harry. "You wanted to speak to me Mr. Potter?"

Harry gathered his thoughts together and launched his assault.

"I have reason to believe that you were friends with both my father and Sirius Black." Harry said, cutting right to the chase. "I want to know what happened; why they had a falling out, why Black became a death eater, why he killed your other friend, Peter Pettigrew, what his other crimes were, about the marauders, and why Snape hates me so much." Harry kept his face and tone serious, letting Lupin know that he wasn't leaving until he knew everything that he wanted to know.

The DADA teacher for his part looked shocked at the questions from the Potter heir. He had assumed like everybody else that the first year just wanted to learn the patronus charm. To hear questions about Sirius Black, James Potter and the Marauders unbalanced him for a moment since not only was it unexpected, it brought up painful and bittersweet memories.

"I-I'll do the best I can. I'm rather curious how you found out that I was familiar with your parents and Sirius Black in the first place."

"I was looking for information on Black since I knew he'd probably come after me. I found his Hogwarts yearbook, and it was obvious that you were close with them, along with Peter Pettigrew. Now tell me what happened."

Remus took a few moments to compose himself, and not seeing any way out of the situation began to speak.

"Your father and Sirius Black were friends all throughout their Hogwarts years along with Peter and I. Together we were known as the Marauders; the greatest pranksters Hogwarts has ever seen. Though the Weasley boys might give us a run for our money all things considered. But even if all four of us were close, Sirius and James were best friends and brothers. Sirius was James' best man when your parents got married and then was named your godfather when they found out they were having a baby."

"So what happened? How did they end up on opposite sides?" Harry asked.

"Well, that's the thing. No one knows. There was no fight, no falling out, no anything to suspect Black. Until the attack everyone thought that Sirius was one hundred percent loyal to the light and your family."

Harry thought that over in surprise. "So what, he just decided one day to kill a street full of muggles and his former friend? What happened, why did he become a death eater?"

The world-weary man just shook his head and sighed. "I don't know."

Harry frowned, angry that something was obviously being kept from him.

"You were at the trial weren't you? What do you know that I don't – what did he say in his defence about his deeds and convictions?"

Finally Lupin looked up. "There was no trial."

Harry faltered, taken aback. "What?"

"Sirius Black was never given a trial. Due to the indisputable evidence against him, including several eye-witnesses, the ministry felt that having one would be a waste of its time and money."

Harry just scowled. "If anything Professor, what you're saying is making me believe more in the guilt of the ministry then of Sirius Black. After all, those witnesses were muggles and it would have been easy to trick them into seeing something that wasn't real, or changing their memories after the fact. Tell me why _you_ know he's really guilty."

Lupin seemed to be debating with himself for a moment before succumbing.

"As I said, your father and Sirius were very close. They both entered joined the ranks of aurors as soon as possible and delighted in trying to make trouble for the death eaters and put as much of them behind bars. It came to a point where your family had become targets of the Dark Lord. Fearing for your safety, your parents decided to perform the Fidelus Charm and go into hiding."

Harry gave Lupin a shrewd look – he knew that Lupin was hiding facts. Voldemort had already admitted (and Dumbledore had confirmed it) that Harry was the one the Dark Lord was after, not his father. Besides James would have only been an auror for a short amount of time before he had died; hardly long enough to make a real name for himself or to incur Voldemort's wrath. But Harry had no way to know what Lupin knew (Lupin might not have known about Harry being the actual target) so for now he would listen and dig for more information later.

"So what did the Fidelus Charm do?"

"It's a spell that can hide any location and stores the information into a secret keeper. As long as the secret keeper remains silent, whoever and whatever is in that location is safe. Being James' best friend, your parents naturally picked Sirius to be their secret keeper. Well, needless to say that the following day your parents died and you were declared the Boy-Who-Lived."

Harry was silent for a long while after that revelation, his hands clenched into fists due to his anger. It was one thing that his parents had died, but to hear that it was because they were betrayed by someone who they felt was their brother, someone who they had loved and trusted...

Harry walked out of Lupin's office, not bothering to close the door silently behind him. All his other questions such as why Lupin never visited him while growing up, or what the story with Snape was were forgotten in light of this new revelation. Harry made his way outside – he needed to work off some steam and doing some of his shinobi training was the best way to do it.

* * *

_The sound of countless screams permeated the air; some were cries of battle and even more were screams of anguish and death. You could hear buildings collapsing, deafening explosions and the roar of a ferocious beast. There was no doubt that he was in the middle of a great battle. But amidst it all was a loving voice._

"_I'm sorry my son. I wish I could see you grow and become the great man I know you will be. I wish I didn't have to give you this burden. I wish your mother hadn't died; she had been waiting so long for you. Know that we will watch over you and are proud of you. I love you Naruto."_

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Naruto collapsed on the ground, his breathing deep and ragged. After Harry's first encounter with dementors, they had decided it was best to learn how to deal with them since they were so dangerous and debilitating. Learning the patronus spell wasn't so bad; all things considered they were able to master it pretty quickly (though Naruto still liked to point out that he had produced a corporal patronus without a wand almost a full month before Harry did. Harry just argued that he had been able to perform a corporal patronus first, period).

But it was two completely different things performing the spell when in the presence of a dementor or not. When Harry first had the dreamscape recreate the effects from dementors, both Harry and Naruto were knocked out. Slowly they had been getting used to it and getting better at casting a strong corporal patronus in the presence of dementors. But they each had a major problem – neither wanted to fully block out the effects.

The dementors brought out the only memories the boys had of their parents, and even if they were sad memories and their parents had died, each boy cherished them. Especially Naruto who, before now, had no idea who his parents were and what they had felt about him. It wasn't unusual for the crueller villagers to tell him that he wasn't wanted, that he had been abandoned and how his parents would've hoped he died (and if they were his parents how they would have put themselves out of their misery too), and other vicious things. Although the Hokage had assured him that wasn't the case, Naruto wasn't convinced. After all, the old man still wouldn't tell the blond who his parents were, so it was possible that Sarutobi just wanted to spare the boy the pain of knowing that his parents had never cared for him and had high-tailed it.

But now, he heard his father's voice say he loved him himself. His father had said his mother had wanted him. _His parents _had_ loved him _and_ wanted him. _And no matter how many times in the past Naruto had told himself that it didn't matter what his parents had thought, there was no denying how the knowledge that he really was loved lifted his spirits and made him feel like he was walking on air.

Which was why Naruto was having a hard time putting all his effort into his patronus charm. After all, Harry remembered an additional memory of his father after further exposure, who's to say that Naruto won't get a memory of his mother? But unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case.

Though both boys told the other the basics of what they had heard due to the dementors influence, neither had used the dreamscape to let the other listen to their memories. They loved each other and were as close as brothers could be, but those memories were entirely too personal and they knew would be close to their hearts until the day they died. Because of that they had decided to work on this stage of the patronus charm alone; they still talked to each other about their progress and anything else they felt like sharing, but they both felt that the battle of mastering the charm (and themselves in the presence of dementors) was an individual fight.

Naruto wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood up for another go. With a quick mental command the room provided the dementors and Naruto readied his hands for the next encounter.

* * *

Harry leisurely walked along the deserted hallways of Hogwarts. He had just come from the kitchens (which he knew the location of thanks to Fred and George) and he didn't expect to come across anyone while heading back to Gryffindor tower – it was the end of the school year; exams were over and everyone took the opportunity of sleeping in and lazing around during their last few days of term. All things considered Harry was very happy. Gryffindor won each game they played that year – including the game for the Quidditch Cup. Exams were over, and Harry felt that he did well on them, though he'd know for sure in two days. And due to the extra 150 or so points that Harry and his friends had received from stopping Quirrell/Voldemort from stealing the stone, Gryffindor was all but guaranteed to win the House Cup at the leaving feast taking place two days from now. But there was of course one major thing which upset Harry.

Sirius Black.

Sightings of the escaped convict had been nearly non-existent these past few months, ever since Black broke into the Gryffindor tower for the second time. Most people just assumed that Black had been scared away and now most students seemed to have almost forgotten the fact that Black had ever existed. But Harry couldn't forget. Not after finding out that that man had been his father's best friend and his godfather. Not after finding out that he was largely responsible for his parents' death.

At first Harry had desperately wanted to go after the traitorous mass-murderer and get some revenge for what he did, but Naruto was able to talk him out of it. The blond had argued that Harry didn't even know where Black was, and if the mass-murderer was after Harry anyway, wasn't it better to stay in the school, learn all he could and then be better prepared for the confrontation? But what had really made up Harry's mind was the fear and worry in Naruto's eyes as he tried to reason with his older brother. As much as Harry hated Sirius Black and would love to get vengeance for his parents, it wasn't worth upsetting his ottotou. It wasn't worth dying for.

So Harry continued life as usual, training hard and studying everything he could get his hands on. He wouldn't seek out Black for Naruto's sake, but nothing could stop him from being as prepared as possible for when Black did come after him. Then he could get some answers.

Just then Harry's inner musings were cut short by the appearance of a teacher. It took the green-eyed boy a minute to place her as Professor Trelawney, the school's divination teacher, since he had rarely seen her all year. According to the majority of the upper years who took her class, Trelawney was a fraud with a flair for the dramatic, often foreseeing woe and misfortune. She rarely left her sanctuary of the North Tower since she didn't want to "cloud her inner eye", so those who didn't take her class barely knew she existed since she didn't even come down for meals in the Great Hall.

Harry had hoped that she would just ignore him and continue on her way, but that was not to be.

"Aahh! Mr. Potter! I knew that I'd meet you here!" the teacher said in a soft and misty manner, obviously trying to sound otherworldly. Harry just stayed silent, unsure of what to say. "It is such a shame that the great art of divination is only for third years and above, since you surely would have benefited from my guidance and warnings. But alas! I suppose the inner-eye needs time to develop before I instruct you how to use it."

Harry let the professor continue on, ignoring what she was saying for the most part while thinking of excuses he could use so he could leave her company. But all thoughts of ditching the batty teacher fled his mind when suddenly her voice became deep and raspy and her eyes were unfocused and clouded over.

"IT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT! THE DARK LORD LIES ALONE AND FRIENDLESS, ABANDONED BY HIS FOLLOWERS. HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED THESE TEN YEARS. TONIGHT, BEFORE MIDNIGHT...THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE AND SET OUT TO REJOIN HIS MASTER. THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT'S AID, GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN HE EVER WAS. TONIGHT...BEFORE MIDNIGHT... THE SERVANT WILL SET OUT TO REJOIN HIS MASTER..."

Once her speech was finished, Trelawney jerked straight up as if she was suddenly startled awake. To Harry's surprise she didn't even seem to notice her lapse and shrugged it off as a slight moment of loss of concentration before continuing on where she left off (before the whole possessed episode of course).

Later, as Harry finally made his way back to his dorm, he thought over what Trelawney had said. Was that a real prophecy, or was that the teacher's way of impressing students? Either way Harry vowed to stay alert for the rest of the day, just in case...

* * *

"Relax Hermione, it's the end of the year and we're leading in house points by, like, a gajilian." Ron said as he tried to hold onto the squirming Scabbers.

"First of all Ron, gajilian isn't even a word, let alone a number, and just because we're leading in house points doesn't mean we're guaranteed to win. The Leaving Feast is the day after tomorrow, anything could happen between now and then! What if all the other gryffindors also decide to break the rules, because 'hey, we're leading in house points so it doesn't matter anyways!' Then we'll all get caught, and lose and everyone would hate us!" Hermione responded.

It was pretty late at night, only a few more hours before the anticipated midnight of Trelawney's prediction from this morning. Ron, Hermione, Neville and Harry had been lounging around the common room when Hermione sighed at the fact that the sunset was beautiful, and how it was a pity that they weren't allowed outside to go and enjoy it due to the curfew. Ron had proceeded to convince the other's that they should sneak out to watch the sunset by the lake. Even though Hermione was clearly enjoying it, she was still wary of being caught and getting into trouble.

"Hey Ron, why'd you bring Scabbers out here? Aren't you afraid he might run away again?" Neville asked as he watched the red head fight to keep a hold of the squirming rat. Scabbers had been getting worse all year long, getting skinnier and losing his fur. And for the past few months he'd been trying to run away too. Once he had even succeeded and it was only luck that allowed Harry to recognize Scabbers one day in a hall while heading to charms class. After that Ron had gotten an unbreakable cage for Scabbers, stopping any other escape attempts, so Neville was confused why the gangly pre-teen would bring the twitchy pet outside.

"Don't worry, I've got him. Besides, Scabbers has been cooped up for too long. I think being outside will be good for him." Ron replied.

No one argued with him and the four students stayed laying on the ground for quite some time, with only Ron's occasional struggles with Scabbers disrupting the quiet atmosphere. Once the stars started to come out and it was getting quite dark, the first years stood up and began to make their way back to the castle. Harry started to feel anxious the closer to midnight it became – he didn't really believe in prophecies or anything, and he had at least another hour or two, but there was definitely something foreboding about today and it didn't help that he felt eyes on himself and his friends. Suddenly his musings were cut short by a loud exclamation from Ron.

"OW! Bloody rat bit me!" Ron cried, holding on to his hurt finger. "Get back here you stupid rat and stop trying to run away!"

Before the other three could chase after Ron, Harry's sense of unease skyrocketed into a feeling of approaching danger. He looked around and noticed what looked like a giant dog, almost the size of a bear, come barrelling after them. The green-eyed boy pushed Neville and Hermione out of the way and prepared himself for an attack but to his surprise the dog just dodged Harry's kick and continued running past towards Ron.

The red-head himself hadn't noticed the commotion happening a hundred meters or so behind him, too intent in his search for his runaway pet. Finally, with a cry of triumph, Ron dove at the rat and caught it securely in his grasp. "You're not getting away this time, you bloody–" but the tall boy's mumblings were interrupted by Neville's desperate cry.

"RON! LOOK OUT!"

Ron looked up just in time to see the approaching canine before it bowled him over. The dog then grabbed onto the struggling pre-teen and proceeded to drag him to the Whomping Willow – a giant tree near the forbidden forest which is prone to violence and hits anything it can reach with its branches. Harry, Neville and Hermione ran after the dog currently dragging their friend, but the dog already had a large head-start and succeeded in pulling Ron into a previously unnoticed passageway at the trunk of the tree, hidden beneath a mass of roots. Ron hooked one of his legs around a root (his hands were busy keeping hold of the ever struggling Scabbers) to halt his progress into the tunnel, but with a loud crack the red-head's leg broke and Ron no longer had the strength to fight against his captor.

Harry, who had caught up by then, was having a hard time reaching Ron due to the flailing branches. But, he finally made his way with no injuries. But looking back he noticed that Neville and Hermione were having far more trouble getting past. They kept getting hit, sometimes just as soon as they got up. Harry debated whether he should just go on ahead and leave Neville or Hermione to get a teacher when suddenly the tree froze.

"What happened? Why did it freeze?" asked the thankful, but confused, Hermione.

"I-I think that was me." Neville responded, getting up unsteadily to his feet. "One of the branches hit me and I fell onto that root, and I accidently touched that knot on it when I went to get up, and the tree froze."

"So a failsafe, huh?" Harry thought aloud. "I guess it makes sense – the tunnel was probably put there by the school, so it only makes sense that they'd have a way to use it."

The three first-years wasted no time running down the passageway to get to Ron. It felt like they were running for a very long time, but realistically it was only for about 20 minutes, when they finally reached the end with an old wooden door blocking the way. Harry put out his wand (Neville and Hermione hadn't bothered lighting their wands in the first place since they were saving their energy and breaths for the run itself) and with a silent message to his companions, he kicked open the door and all three jumped inside the room, wands at the ready.

They found themselves inside what looked like an abandoned house – the furniture was broken and worn, the windows were boarded shut and there was a thick layer of dust covering everything. But amidst the dust was a clear trail of something being recently dragged up the stairs – obviously Ron. As if to confirm that theory, they could hear the floor from upstairs creaking from someone's weight.

Harry, Hermione and Neville silently (or as silently as possible) made their way upstairs. The door at the end of the hall was closed, and that was where the sound originated from. Just like when they entered the house in the first place, they gave each other a silent signal before kicking open the door and springing in, wands at the ready. Inside they found Ron, clutching painfully at his broken leg, on an old bed.

"Ron! Are you okay?" Hermione asked, running over to check on their friend. Neville was quick to follow but Harry was busy looking out for something else.

"Ron where's the dog?"

The red-head winced in pain as Hermione's enthusiastic efforts to make sure he was fine jostled his leg, but he answered Harry anyway.

"No dog. It wasn't really a dog, but an animagus. Harry the dog's really -!"

And as if that was a long-awaited cue, the door to the bedroom was slammed shut and was blocked by none other than Sirius Black. At the same time, Harry's Hermione's and Neville's wands flew out of their grasps into Black's hands by the convict using Ron's wand. Neville and Hermione moved to flank their injured friend while Harry stood in front protectively.

"Sirius Black." Harry growled out. Ever since he had found out about the man's betrayal against his parents Harry had been waiting for the day Black would attack him. Granted, he never pictured the epic showdown to take place in some deserted old house with his friends (and just the fact that he thought of it as an epic showdown proved that Harry spent way too much time around Naruto...).

Harry's friends sprang forward (or tried to in Ron's case) to stand by Harry. But they were all shaking badly and were obviously terrified, so they didn't present a very intimidating image but Harry appreciated the gesture all the same.

"W-we won't let you get Harry." Neville trembled out.

"Yeah, you'll have to k-kill all of us!" Ron said trying (and failing) to put on a brave front.

"Don't worry," Black said "I only plan to kill one person tonight." He continued, oddly enough never even looking at Harry.

"You heard what we said!" Hermione stated in a panicked shriek. "You can't kill Harry without killing us all!"

"Harry...?" Sirius asked and for the first time his gaze moved from Ron's hands clasped around Scabbers. "Why would I kill Harry? No, the only murder I'm going to commit is the one I was imprisoned for."

Harry just stared at the man in confusion; what was going on? Maybe Ron was right and Black's stay in Azkaban had messed up the man's mind. But if he wasn't the target, who was?

"Hello?! Is anyone here?"

The showdown was interrupted by the sound of someone yelling downstairs.

"Here! We're up here! Please help us!" Hermione screamed out, hoping to get help against the Azkaban escapee.

Everyone seemed to hold their breaths as the sound of someone coming up the stairs echoed through the house, and Hermione, Ron and Neville all sagged in relief as Remus Lupin opened the door. But that relief quickly vanished after their professor's next actions.

"Sirius." Lupin spoke fondly, pulling the other man into a brotherly embrace.

"You know." Black spoke, seemingly as shocked by the teacher's actions as the students. "Since when?"

"Since just now," Lupin replied. "I was monitoring them on the map when I saw his name. I was going to go to the Headmaster but I saw you attack them and knew I had to come help. Where is he?"

"Over there." Black said nodding over to Ron.

"So you switched? Without telling me?" Lupin asked.

Black just gave a slow nod. "I'm sorry, but I thought you were the trai-"

But any further conversation between the two adults was interrupted by a very frustrated and confused Ron.

"Just what the hell is going on here?! You two know each other! And you're friends? And what map?!"

The defence against the dark arts professor seemed to notice the children for the first time. He put his hands up in a placating manner.

"Now, now, there's no need to panic. I can understand that the situation seems highly...odd..., but there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for it, I assure you."

"You can explain after; just let me kill that traitorous no-good rat first!" Black exclaimed as he lunged forward. Lupin grabbed onto the convict and held him back.

"Not yet! They don't understand! We have to explain it first; you at least owe it to Harry."

Those words seemed to stall the filthy, emancipated man for the moment. "Fine! But get on with it already," Black growled out, still glaring at the trembling rodent. "I've already waited 10 years and I'd rather not wait any longer."

"I will, just be patient." Lupin replied.

Harry decided to speak for the first time, feeling betrayed that a man he felt was trustworthy was in cahoots with his parents' betrayer. "And why should we believe anything you say? You're in league with Black! He sold out my parents to Voldemort!"

Harry's friends jolted from the unknown information while Sirius just let his head hang guiltily. Remus was quick to counter however.

"Now Harry, you don't know the whole story. What really hap-"

But Sirius interrupted whatever the professor was going to say. "Don't go making excuses for me Moony; I just as well have handed them over to Voldemort and you know it."

"Just shut up for a second Padfoot!" Lupin growled, sounding frustrated. "You're hardly helping our case right now." Turning back to his students he made one more plea. "Just listen while I explain everything and then I'll help you bring down Sirius if you so choose."

Harry just snorted. "It's not like we have much of a choice, is there? You've got all the wands."

Seeing that Harry spoke the truth, Remus took the wands Sirius had confiscated and returned them to their owners, and even handed over his own wand to the students.

"There; you're all armed and we're not. Now will you please hear us out?"

The four preteens shared a silent look before shrugging. "I guess it couldn't hurt..." Hermione mumbled. Their teacher just gave a relieved sigh before getting into it.

"First of all, Mr. Weasley, could I see your rat please?" But the question seemed to raise Ron's distrust of the situation once again.

"Scabbers? What's my rat got to do with anything?!"

"Everything." Lupin stated solemnly. "Please, the rat."

Seeing as Ron was extremely reluctant to part with his pet and unwilling to force anything in case the kids decided not to hear him out, the DADA professor just decided to get on with it.

"Fine, you can keep hold of the rat for the time being, but just make sure it doesn't escape. It is the utmost importance that he doesn't get away, do you understand?"

Ron just nodded dumbly, tightening his grip around his squealing pet and mumbled out something about crazy teachers.

"Good," Lupin said, before taking a large breath in preparation. "As Harry already knows I was friends in school with Sirius Black, a boy named Peter Pettigrew and Harry's father James Potter. We were quite the mischief makers, back in the day," Remus reminisced with a wry smile, "I doubt anyone learned more about the school and its grounds than we did. We even made a map of all we had discovered, adding enchantments to see all the occupants of the castle even if they were trying to hide their identities. It was with that very map that I watched as Sirius Black dragged two people into hidden tunnel at the Whomping Willow's base."

"But professor," Hermione interrupted "what do you mean two people? Black only dragged one; Ron."

"I assure you it was two Ms. Granger. Mr. Weasley was one of them and the second was a man I never expected to see again, since I had thought he'd been dead for over 10 years – Peter Pettigrew."

Harry started at the familiar name. So that's what Black meant when he said the only murder he planned on doing was the one he was already convicted for. And now that Harry thought about it, Black had yet to take his eyes off of Scabbers the whole time. And considering that Black was an animagus...

"Scabbers?" Harry asked. "You think Ron's rat is Pettigrew?"

"Yes."

"What?!" Ron yelled out, unconsciously bringing his pet towards his chest protectively. "You're all mad! Scabbers has been in the family for forever! He's a rat, not a wizard!"

"Actually, he's been your family for just over 10 years if my guess is correct. And he's both; Peter Pettigrew was, and is, a rat animagus."

"But Professor," Hermione said "I looked up animagi in the library after finding out that professor McGonnagal was one, and there were only 7 animagus registered with the ministry; Peter Pettigrew wasn't one of them."

Sirius let out a bark of laughter. "Of course he wasn't on the ministry list! I'm not on the list either. None of us registered since the whole point was to -."

"That's enough Sirius, I'll explain the rest." Lupin cut in. He gave the four children a long look before resigning himself. "I had hoped I could have gone the year with no one discovering my secret, but it seems like it's not to be. I'm a werewolf."

Ron and Neville flinched back at the information, but Harry and Hermione who hadn't grown up hearing horror stories weren't so affected.

"What's that got to do with Black selling out my parents?" Harry asked shortly.

"I'm getting to it, just wait a moment. As Mr.'s Weasley and Longbottom know, werewolves do not have a good reputation in wizarding society. In fact, we're seen as mindless beasts who live to kill and spread our disease. I was bitten when I was a young boy and it was as if my life ended; I had no more future and spent a few nights a month locked away undergoing an excruciatingly painful transformation as my mind was overtaken by the wild wolf. But then, when I was 11 I got accepted into Hogwarts even though I had resigned myself to being denied by all of wizarding society. Precautions were taken of course; like this tunnel leading to the shrieking shack where I could transform without fear of being found or biting anyone. And I made friends for the first time. For once in my life, I had a hope.

But it wasn't long before my friends figured out what I was. There's only so many times that my absences could be covered with excuses, and they were hardly dumb. But instead of shunning me as I had feared, they tried to help me. They became animagi. So even though they couldn't keep me company during the full moon as humans, they could do it as animals. With them by my side I felt more sane than I ever had before during the full moon, and I wasn't in quite as bad shape following the transformations."

"So it's possible that Scabbers is Peter." Hermione said. "And if you think of it, Scabbers has been acting weird all year; well ever since Sirius Black escaped at least."

Ron spoke up in defence of his rat. "Just because Pettigrew was a rat animagus doesn't mean Scabbers is him! I mean, there are millions of rats out there; why do you think Scabbers is the one?"

Remus opened his mouth, then paused for a moment. "You know Sirius, Mr. Weasley asks a good question. I know now that the rat is Peter, but only because of the map. How in the world did you know which rat to go after?"

Sirius just went digging into his grubby robes and pulled out an old photograph.

"That's us at the beginning of the year!" Neville exclaimed. Sure enough it was the front page picture from the second day of school, featuring Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville and their respective pets just after they got off from the Hogwarts Express.

"Minister Fudge came for the annual prison inspection and gave me his paper. I've seen Peter transform a million times before – I knew him instantly. He even has a toe missing on his front paw! And when I saw him next to Harry, I knew I had to do something. So I waited until I was skinny enough to slip through the bars and swam to shore as a dog. Then I made my way here to find and capture Peter. Unfortunately every time I tried the little rat avoided me until I had to flee. But not this time!"

"Wait!" Harry yelled out, stopping Black from making another lunge at the rat. "Why are you pretending to protect me; you're the one who sold out my parents! You were their secret keeper!"

Sirius just gave Harry a look deep with regret and sadness.

"No, I would have never betrayed Lily and James, _ever_. I would have rather died. So when James asked me to be his secret keeper, I of course said yes. But at the time Dumbledore suspected that one of us was a traitor. I had suspected it was Remus. So I suggested we switch the secret keeper to Peter, so I could be bait. But the next day your parents died. I had wanted to take you and raise you like your parents wanted, but Dumbledore wanted to make sure the killing curse had no ill effects. With nothing else to do, I went looking for any trace of Peter. And when I found him, whole and well - obviously your parents' location wasn't forced out of him, which meant he was the spy for Voldemort. Meek little Peter; I never would have guessed, though I ought to have.

When I confronted him, the little bastard just yelled out for the street to hear how I had betrayed Lily and James before cutting off his finger and blowing apart the street. The next thing I knew I was sitting in a cell in Azkaban."

Neville looked over at Scabber's missing toe. "They always did say that the only thing they could find of Pettigrew was his finger..."

"But that still doesn't mean Scabbers is Pettigrew!" Ron retorted, not sounding like he even believed himself. "I mean, so what if he's got a missing toe? He probably just got it in a fight with another rat or something."

"Then I think it's high time to offer proof. Hand over my wand and the rat." Lupin spoke.

Hermione handed over the professor's wand, but Ron was more reluctant with Scabbers. "What are you going to do to him?"

"I'm just going to force him into his human form. Don't worry, if he is a real rat it won't hurt him; I promise."

But just as Ron was handing over the rat, the door banged open and a crazed-looking Snape was at the door.

"I knew it!" the potions master exclaimed. "I knew that you were helping your old friend Black into the castle! But Albus wouldn't believe me that his pet werewolf would ever -"

However the rest of Snape's words were lost as Remus pushed the man aside in his hurry to catch the escaping Pettigrew – in the confusion that Snape's entry caused Peter bit Ron, causing him to be dropped and freed.

"Shut up Snivellis! I have more important things to do than fight with you right now!" Sirius yelled, running towards the door and the escaped traitor. "Now move out of the way; I have a filthy rat to catch."

Professor Snape however, refused to be put off.

"Be still or the werewolf dies." The greasy-haired man proclaimed, brandishing a silver dagger to Lupin's unprotected back. Everyone in the room froze eyes wide and unbelieving. Remus hardly dared to breath; he the offensive metal felt so close to the skin at the back of his neck that the werewolf could swear a blister was already forming.

"Surprised Lupin?" the potions master smirked. "No matter what Albus claimed I always knew you were no better than a dangerous beast. So when I heard you were going to be taking over the DADA position from Quirrell; well I decided it was best to be prepared. And though I figured you would be helping your old school chum into the castle, I didn't think you'd use such an obvious spot as your hideout. But then again you two were never good at thinking about the future consequences of your actions; the full moon is in two days, and once again you didn't bother coming to me for your potion. But I guess it was a good thing since as I went to deliver it, I saw a certain map with you hurrying along the tunnel to the shrieking shack."

"Wait! Professor, you don't understand!" Hermione cried out.

"Yeah, Sirius is innocent!" Neville put in. "Peter Pettigrew is alive, and a rat animagus!"

"Silence!" Snape yelled out. "I don't know what lies these two have fed you," the potions master spoke to the students "but we are all going to go back outside where Black can be dealt with. Now."

Remus steadied his breathing before addressing Snape. "I'm sure all of us are more than willing to join you in the castle, but first we have to find the rat. Once we have Pettigrew we'll –"

"Who ever said anything about the castle?" Snape sneered. "Oh no, I believe the minister gave orders for Black to be kissed on sight. There's no need to stop by the castle first when the dementors are just a few steps away. Now I'd get going if I were you; I hear that silver is so toxic to werewolves that a small scratch would be all it takes to bring one down _permanently_."

Everyone seemed shocked at what the dour man was suggesting. "You can't be serious!" Lupin exclaimed. "He's an innocent man! Would you really condemn someone to a fate worse than death just to satisfy a school-boy grudge?!"

"_School-boy grudge_?! You and that mongrel almost killed me! He led me straight to a fully transformed werewolf! You should have been put down after that, and him in Azkaban years earlier. But no, Dumbledore just swept it all under the rug as if it were nothing more than a harmless prank! Well, I suppose it doesn't matter now that justice will finally be served. Now walk."

Not seeing much of a choice with the silver dagger so close to Lupin, everyone reluctantly went down the stairs towards the tunnel leading back to the castle (Harry had the foresight to put Ron's broken leg in a splint and having Neville and himself help the injured boy walk) while Snape and his captive took the rear. As hopeless as the situation seemed, Harry wasn't ready to call it quits just yet – he still had his wand even if he was unwilling to use it on Snape just yet and Peter couldn't have gotten that far ahead since he would have to travel across the large Hogwarts grounds as a rat unless he wanted to be caught and rats have very little legs.

Harry and the others had only taken about 5 steps outside when something unexpected occurred. Peter, realising that he had no way to outrun Sirius whether in his animagus form or not, had decided to lay in wait for an ambush. When he saw Snape holding Lupin at knife-point, Pettigrew realised there may be a chance of him getting out of there alive. He transformed back into his human form right beside the potions professor, who was so shocked at seeing the 'dead' man that he faltered, shallowly cutting Lupin with the dagger. As Lupin collapsed due to silver poisoning, Peter struggled with Snape for the knife. Before Sirius could finish making his way over to the struggling pair, Pettigrew managed to get the upper hand and stab the potions professor.

By then Harry and Neville had put down Ron and were following behind Hermione who had left with Sirius to the scene. Peter quickly transformed again to avoid Sirius barrelling into him and was lost in the long grass. Sirius wasted no time transforming into his own animagus form, using his formidable nose to sniff out the rat. Suddenly Padfoot paused, looking up from where he was sniffing and giving a bark of warning to Hermione. But it was too late as Peter transformed once again into his human form and placed the silver dagger he had stolen from Snape threateningly against the bushy-haired girl's neck.

"D-don't come any closer or I kill the girl!" Peter promised to the approaching Sirius, Harry and Neville. He confiscated Hermione's wand and pushed the dagger a bit deeper into the girl's neck, making a trickle of blood appear. "I mean it! Stay back!"

Harry and Neville watched horrified as Pettigrew slowly backed away into the forbidden forest pulling a whimpering and terrified Hermione with him.

"Go get help you two." Sirius ordered the two boys as he pocketed Lupin's wand. "Remus and Snape will die if they don't get medical attention soon. I'm going to follow Pettigrew. Don't worry," he added, shooting them a reassuring smile. "I'll get the girl back safe and sound."

Sirius transformed back into his dog form and dove into the forest while Neville ran as fast as possible towards the school. Harry went to help Snape and Lupin the best he was able to with his minimal healing skills. Though Harry was confident he would be able to help Snape enough to get him stable, he didn't know enough about werewolves and silver poisoning to do much for his DADA professor.

Meanwhile, Ron had managed to shimmy his way over to Harry and the two professors. The two boys could just make out the castle's doors as they opened allowing what looked to be the whole Hogwarts staff (minus Snape and Lupin of course) as they ran their way. But just then Harry heard a high pitched whine of a dog coming from the forest.

"Ron," Harry said "I think Sirius is in trouble. Watch over these two for now, I'm going after him."

It didn't take long for Harry to realise what had affected Sirius so much; as he got deeper into the forest the colder and more depressed he got – obviously dementors had come to join the party. Finally Harry reached a clearing by the lake where the dementors had Sirius, Pettigrew and Hermione cornered. Hermione was already unconscious but Sirius and Petigrew were still struggling to keep their weak patronii alive.

Harry took a deep breath and focused his mind; if he didn't get this right it wasn't like the dream scape where he could just wish away the dementors. But he had been able to do it successfully before, so he saw no reason why he couldn't do it now (despite the fact that he had never tried against so many dementors before). Harry pictured Naruto in his mind – how he made him feel wanted, loved and worthwhile.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

A large silver animal came out from Harry's wand, running towards the dementors with bared teeth. Harry fell to his knees as a strong lurch went through him; almost as if someone got a strong hold of his magic and gave a solid tug.

'What in the world was that?' Harry wondered. 'That had never happened before in the dream scape!'

A moment later, and feeling back to normal more or less, Harry made his way over to check on Hermione as Sirius and Peter had started duelling now that the dementors were taken care of.

Peter, seeing a slight opening in the other's defence, used the disarming charm to rid Black of his wand. But Sirius didn't let that stop him; the next thing Peter knew there was a loud crack and his face hurt like hell. But Sirius gave the rat animagus no time to get a hold of himself since no sooner had Peter staggered back holding his obviously broken nose than Black tackled him to the ground.

Harry meanwhile was dragging Hermione away from the fight since there was nothing wrong with her besides the dementors exposure. Harry had only dragged her a few meters when the rest of the professors arrived on the scene.

"Freeze!" Albus Dumbledore demanded as he brandished his wand, causing the two former friends to pause mid-fight and look up.

"Oh my word!" McGonagall gasped out, tired from the long run from the castle. "Is that Peter Pettigrew?!"

Dumbledore looked at the thought-to-be-dead-man with a piecing stare. "It seems that Mr. Longbottom was telling the truth; Sirius Black is innocent."

Those words seemed to shake the two men from their stupor. Sirius could barely contain his excitement as he now knew there was no way he'd be sent back to Azkaban, and Peter started to tremble as he saw that any hope for a future was dashed.

"You hear that Peter, old pal?" Sirius asked Pettigrew mockingly. "They know the truth. Now there's nowhere in the world for you to hide, cause if we don't get you, I'm sure the death eaters will for leading the Dark Lord to his doom." Black finished with a dry laugh.

"No..." Peter whimpered, barely able to understand that the game was over.

"No!" He couldn't believe that after all he had went through – including cutting off his own finger and faking his own death – he was still found out.

"NO!" Pettigrew reared up with sudden vigour and head-butted Sirius. He would not give up now! He didn't spend ten precious years wasted as a rat for nothing!

Peter took advantage of Sirius' momentary pain by snatching up the fallen wands and blasting the Azkaban escapee back. Sirius landed with a thud a few feet away, but was still laughing.

"There's no point in fighting Peter." Sirius said, always happy to take out some aggression on the one who had taken everything from him. "Look around; you're surrounded with nowhere to run or hide. It's over."

Peter just kept the wands pointed in front of him, trying to think of _anything_ to get himself out of the situation he was in.

"Congratulations on making it this far though – considering how useless you were back in the day I never would have dreamed you could have tricked the world like you have." Sirius spoke "Then again, you haven't done much have you? Just taken advantage of mine and James' good faith and the assumptions of the wizarding world. Hell, you wouldn't have even been _considered _as their secret keeper if I hadn't suggested it. People were so sure of the fact you wouldn't be the secret keeper, they threw me in Azkaban without a trial! But it ends here; you'll be tossed into a cell and forgotten except by maybe the death eaters."

"No! It can't end like this! I won't let it end like this! I won't be forgotten!" Pettigrew yelled, feeling his desperation rising.

Sirius didn't bother to say anything else but laughed a deep belly laugh at the clear panic his enemy was in. Peter was at his wit's end; what should he do? What _could_ he do?

Peter felt his eyes wander and they finally landed on Harry. Harry who looked so much like James. Harry who Peter had been staying as a rat for, so he could serve as a peace offering to the Dark Lord. Harry who could still be his salvation for the Dark. Stealing himself for what he was about to do, Peter pointed his wand towards the young saviour.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Pettigrew didn't bother to wait and see if the deadly curse hit its target, or even to see if it worked or was rebounded like when the Dark Lord had tried it so many years ago. While Peter regretted his actions, he wouldn't have done anything differently. Sending out the killing curse was just the only thing he could do to make so much panic amongst the teachers that he could have a head start. Directing it at Harry ensured his best chance at getting back into the Dark Lord's good graces, since any hope of redemption for the Light was gone after he had sold out the Potters.

Harry watched as the green light headed towards him as if it was moving in slow motion. He could have moved out of the way, but that would leave Hermione in its path and he didn't have enough time to move them both. But before he could consider the consequences of being hit, a body flung itself in front of him taking the spell to the chest.

The green-eyed boy looked in shock at Sirius' dead body. Why had he done that? They had only known each other for such a short amount of time; so why sacrifice himself for Harry's sake? Now that the world knew he was a free man, he had the rest of his life ahead of him.

Everything became too much for the young man and it didn't even register when he was led to the infirmary and a sleeping potion was poured down his throat, ensuring he'd be out for at least a few hours.

* * *

A/N: I have to admit, I had NEVER thought about killing Sirius off when I started writing this, even when this chapter was already 3/4ths finished. But then I read a review that asked if Sirius would be coming to Naruto's world with Harry. I had never really planned it, and though Sirius would no doubt spice up the story and I could have had fun doing little sub-plots with him, I felt that having Sirius there would impede Harry's independence and progress since (even though Sirius is hardly strict or anything) Sirius is a father figure to Harry and Harry would unconsciously be seeking his approval. That being said, I couldn't really picture leaving Sirius behind either – he spent 10 years in hell on earth and for what – just to have the person he escaped to protect torn from his grasp? It just seemed cruel and I couldn't really picture him moving on and having a true happy ending as I could with the other characters left behind.

So then I thought 'well what _do_ I do with him?' At first the idea of killing him was just kind of a sarcastic thought, but then ideas with what could result from his death started forming, and the next thing I knew Sirius was on the chopping block. But at least he died saving Harry – it was the least I could do. As much as I hated how J.K. Rowling killed Sirius in the series, I now have a better appreciation of why she did it. So I ask once again, please don't kill me. It was the way Sirius wanted to go, honest!

Time for some Q&A:

**We've already read the book and have seen the show. Please reduce the amount of canon info and get on with the plot already!**

I know no one likes re-reading what they already heard a million times before, and I'll try to reduce the amount of canon info I throw out there. There are two main reasons that I did do it (and will continue to add bits and pieces here and there) is:

1) To establish the rules in my universe. Every author likes to do something different; whether magic and chakra are the same thing or completely different, whether people can choose their own animagus form or if they're stuck with one from birth, etc, etc. So even if you've heard a lot of it before either as canon or in other fanfics, I still think it's good to set up the boundaries and facts of the fic. Now that the story is well underway, there won't be as many incidences where I'll cram info down your throats but be warned it'll still happen every now and then.

2) Some things and events I feel are vital for the character. For example, if the Dursleys were caring and doting towards Harry, then it would have led to a totally different Harry Potter. Or if Neji had beaten Naruto in the chunnin exams then Neji would have had no reason to see fault in his reasoning and his character wouldn't have developed and matured as it had. So even though it can get annoying, lots of things from canon will be replayed (though I hope to give some events a new twist to it).

**Will Lee have magical powers?**

While Lee is one of my favourite characters of all time (seriously, how could anyone not love him?) I already had established chakra and magic as the same thing. So he unfortunately won't be doing any spells since he has very little chakra/magical abilities. Not to worry though, he'll still be as awesome as in canon. (I'd say he'd be even more awesome, but I really don't think that's possible. ;)

Next chapter: summer holiday


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: I'm surprised at how accepting everybody was at Sirius' death. As a reward I tried to get this chapter out as soon as possible, especially since you get to see some of the results from the event.

P.S.

I don't own Harry or Naruto. Which is too bad since I think I'd like being filthy rich. Sigh.

* * *

Naruto didn't know what had happened, but he knew it was big. When the blond had first come to the dream scape, he was angry and upset with something his academy instructor had said and went looking for his nii-san to vent and get some comfort. His words died in his throat upon finding his aniki however – Harry sat dejectedly oblivious to the world and obviously deep in melancholy thoughts. While Naruto was not the most tactful person, he was always able to understand people and therefore silently went to sit next his brother.

The blue-eyed boy didn't know how long he spent quietly sitting there – it could have minutes of hours. He wasn't even sure that Harry knew that Naruto was there giving his silent support considering how deep in his own mind the older boy seemed. Needless to say when Harry finally broke the silence Naruto almost jumped out of his skin and missed what he'd said.

"Wha-?! Ano, could you repeat that?" Naruto asked, still startled.

Harry looked over at his brother calmly. "I asked if I was ever meant to be loved." Harry answered before facing forward again, clearly still more in the midst of his thoughts than the conversation.

Naruto just seemed flabbergasted. "Of course you're meant to be loved! Everyone needs precious people and everyone needs to be someone's precious person. What's wrong nii-san? Why're you talking like this?"

Harry just continued talking in that same detached voice as before. Naruto wasn't even sure that Harry had heard what Naruto said.

"I don't think I'm meant to be loved. I mean, even my own relatives hate my guts and would love to see me dead. And anyone who does love me just dies. That's all I'm good for – killing. I guess it's a good thing that I'm training to be a shinobi, huh?" Harry stated with a dry laugh. "I mean, ninjas are supposed to kill their emotions too, since they're only tools right? So it's a good thing that everyone who ever loves me dies, that way I can't get attached and can be a more efficient ninja."

Naruto had had enough. He grabbed his older brother's face and forced the green eyes to stare into his own blue. "Harry stop it! I know you don't really think like this! I love you and I'm not going anywhere!"

"Yeah, but are you even real? Knowing my luck you're just an elaborate invisible friend or something that I just made up so I wouldn't be consumed by my relatives hate and my miserable childhood. After all, we've never actually met in the real world, have we?"

Even though Naruto knew Harry didn't mean it hurtfully or anything Naruto couldn't help but flinch. After all, the blonde would be lying if he said the same thoughts had never crossed his mind before. Naruto had always refused to dwell on it though – he didn't think he could cope if Harry was just been a figment of his imagination created to save him from the hell that was his lonely existence. Naruto flat out refused to consider the possibility that Harry wasn't real and was just as determined to refuse Harry of the same.

The next thing Harry knew he was on the ground with an aching jaw and a righteously angry Naruto standing above him breathing heavily with fists clenched.

"SHUT UP!" Naruto yelled tearing up a bit. "I won't let you do this aniki! I won't let you pretend that this isn't real! That we aren't brothers, even if it's not by blood! So just shut up already about that!"

Harry looked up from his position, his head clearing as he took in the sight of his little brother so visibly upset and ready to fight tooth and nail for what he believed. Harry rubbed his sore jaw with a wry smile – his little brother was even ready to come to blows. Now that Harry wasn't in such a depressing state of mind he could think rationally and immediately felt bad when he realised how his musings had upset the blond boy. Immediately the dream scape provided a comfy outdoors scene where both boys could relax comfortably underneath a large tree. Harry gave Naruto a small sheepish smile and the blonde didn't hesitate in seating himself next to his brother waiting to hear the whole story and prepared to provide comfort when needed.

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He stayed crouched in his hiding spot, eyes on the enemy. He looked over to his fellow companions – friends he was honoured to command and fight with in battle. Turning back he noticed that his target was facing away from them, completely clueless to the imminent danger. He let a smirk grace his features at his target's obliviousness; but he supposed that's what his foe got for letting down their guard while such skilled ninjas such as himself and his companions hunted him. With a silent signal he and his friends slowly advanced on their target.

Easy...easy...almost there...

"Konohamaru, you know that there aren't any rocks that are perfectly rectangular with eye-holes right?"

The boy scowled – apparently he had underestimated his foe once again. But since the gig was up, he and his friends might as well make the ultimate entrance. He threw down the smoke bombs, forgetting that they were still in the box.

Naruto watched as smoke left the eye-holes and the kids inside coughed from the thick and heavy fumes, before throwing off the box and catching their breaths. But soon enough they recovered, striking dramatic poses and pretending the whole smoke incident never happened.

"Aha! Well done Boss! But I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you were able to discover us, what with being my rival and all. But this time it's not just me you will have to contend with! Prepare yourself for the Konohamaru Corps!"

"Sexiness of an adult, female ninja; Moegi!" A young girl with her red hair done up in pigtails introduced herself.

"I love assembling models; Udon!" A boy who was a little on the chubby side with glasses and a runny nose was next.

"The village's number one genius ninja; Konohamaru!" And of course Naruto's own enemy/subordinate/little brother finished things off.

Naruto was a little thrown off by the presence of Konohamaru's friends; usually the young boy "attacked" the blond alone. But Naruto would never say no to more acquaintances and he was glad that Konohamaru was able to leave his grandfather's shadow long enough to make some friends.

"Oh yeah! You will never defeat me, for I am Uzumaki Naruto – Konoha's number one prankster, future Hokage of Konohagakure no sato, and Ramen connoisseur extraordinaire ! Prepare to meet your doom!"

But just as the two sides prepared to attack in what was sure to be an epic battle, they were interrupted.

"Moegi! Dinner time! You can finish playing with your friends tomorrow!"

The girl ran off to her mother and Udon excused himself as well since he had to meet up with his mom too. Naruto and Konohamaru just looked at each other for a moment before Konohamaru cracked a giant grin.

"Last one in the stream's a dirty egg!" The boy yelled out, already running.

Naruto felt his grin widen as he took the lead.

So far Naruto's summer consisted of working at the Hokage tower during the day and spending his evenings with his various friends and precious people. This was definitely the best summer ever.

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Harry wiped the sweat from his eyes using the bottom part of his giant (and previously owned by Dudley) shirt. So far his summer wasn't going well at all.

Before going to Hogwarts Harry and the Dursley's had a sort of understanding – as long as Harry did some cooking and cleaning and there was no sign of him the rest of the time, then Harry was left to his own devices. To be honest Harry had been looking forward to going back to the Dursleys for the summer, for no other reason than to get a break from the circus that Hogwarts and the wizarding world had become after learning that Sirius Black was actually innocent and the real traitor and murderer had been in Hogwarts (the rumoured safest place in the world) for the better part of the past 5 years. Being the Boy-who-Lived, Sirius Black's godson (and heir according to Sirius' will) and one of the witnesses to the events of that night a few weeks ago made people swarm around him whenever they caught sight of the bespectacled boy-hero. Therefore Harry had been hoping to go back to the muggle world, continue his previous routine of ignoring the Dursley's, going to the library and practicing his taijutsu skills while the fuss in the wizarding world died down.

Unfortunately that was not to be. Apparently an owner of a small construction company made plans to have dinner with the Dursleys which could mean a large pay increase for Vernon if he could convince the other man to sign a contract with his own drilling company, Grunnings. Therefore no sooner did Harry step in the front door than he was loaded down with work to make the house immaculate, never mind the fact that it was already so clean you could perform open-heart surgery in the kitchen with no fear of infections. Harry had to sneak off late at night to do his ninja training and hadn't even had time to so much as open a book, let alone read it or do homework.

While this on its own was bad enough, it was not the main reason for Harry's disappointment.

The real reason he was slightly angry and upset was because he had yet to hear from his friends. Well it wasn't completely true; Ron had phoned him the second day of holidays. Unfortunately the lanky red-head had no understanding of how the muggle contraption worked, so when his aunt picked up the receiver it was to get Ron's voice in her ear yelling loud enough to be heard from the other side of the country without the phone. Uncle Vernon proceeded to rip into the boy and hang up while Harry's aunt went to the clinic to get her hearing checked. Needless to say that Harry didn't get anymore phone calls after that, which was too bad since Hermione, being a muggleborn, would have known how to use the phone properly. As for the lack of owl post, well that was a little harder to explain. Harry just hoped there was a good excuse; at least from Ron and Neville since he knew that Hermione wouldn't have access to an owl either (unless the other two boys sent letters to her).

Pushing the thoughts of his crappy summer out of his head, he went back to work while mentally going over the different hand signs for the substitution technique.

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Ronald, George and Fred Weasley were silent as they made their way in the dead of night to Surrey, which was quite unusual for these often rambunctious boys. But this night-time excursion was very different from their usual kitchen-raids or late-night setting up pranks.

All three boys had become friends with the wizarding boy-hero Harry Potter over the course of the past school year and therefore each got increasingly more worried as time passed and still no word from the newly-turned 12 year old was heard. After a full month of no response Hermione, Neville and the three aforementioned Weasleys were ready to panic. It didn't help that they suspected Harry's relatives of abusing him. I mean, what type of loving relatives give their nephew such worn out and ill-fitting clothes? (Even Ron had better clothes and most of them had gone through five previous owners first.) Or gives a toothpick with a note asking to stay away during the summer as a Christmas present? No, all was not well at the Dursley residence; that much was clear.

So now the trio was inconspicuously – or as inconspicuously as you can get with a flying Ford Anglia – making their way to Harry Potter's home to find out what happened to the messy haired boy and perform a rescue mission if need be. But even if they were preparing for a rescue mission they weren't quite prepared to find metal bars over Harry's window and multiple locks on the door, keeping him a prisoner in his own bedroom.

As they quickly made their escape, and Harry was explaining how a house elf named Dobby had stolen all his mail and prevented their owls from reaching him unless he agreed to not return to Hogwarts, Fred and George shared a silent look. The situation they found Harry in just wasn't right.

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Harry sighed as he collapsed on the comfy (if not a bit lumpy) couch in the Burrow's living room, tired after his morning workout. This summer was definitely one for the books.

First Harry has to work his butt off so his relatives can impress potential business partners while he's locked away in his room. Then on the night of the dinner, a house elf shows up, admits to stealing his mail and tells him not to go back to Hogwarts. And when Harry refused, the elf used magic to ruin the pudding Harry's aunt spent all day making for the special dinner before disappearing. And if that wasn't enough to ruin his life with the Durleys, then the ministry owl informing him of his offense and ordering him to come into the ministry for a meeting with the minister himself in mid-August certainly did it. If only they had signed the contract before the owl had shown up; or at least if the CEO's wife hadn't been so deathly afraid of birds...

Well needless to say the Vernon had been _extremely _displeased and had decided to lock Harry away – literally. He bought and installed over 7 locks on the outside of his bedroom door and had metal bars put in over his window. Harry's uncle let him out 2 times a day to use the bathroom and made a cat-flap in the door so a meagre amount of food could be delivered every now and then. Harry couldn't imagine how bad it would have been if he hadn't picked the locks every night to go train at the park and raid the fridge for food.

Luckily less than a week into his imprisonment the Weasley boys had come to his rescue and had taken him to their home; something that Harry was immensely thankful of. But even though the second half of Harry's summer is so far completely opposite of the first half, he still has to deal with the meeting with the minister in a few hours and whatever twists it adds to the circus that is his life.

Well, at least these past two weeks had been nothing but amazing. As far as Harry could tell the Burrow – what the Weasley's affectionately called their home – was 4 Privet Dr.'s antithesis. Where the Dursleys were obsessed with material things, cleanliness and order, the Burrow was always full of people, animals (they had hens, gnomes and even a ghoul in the attack) and noise. Harry loved it.

His daily schedule at the Burrow would go a little something like this: he'd wake up early in the morning to do some ninja training (it seems that no Weasley was an early riser, except Mr. Weasley but that could just be because he had to for work), then he'd shower and start making breakfast until Mrs. Weasley would come down and shoo him away (Harry felt that making breakfast was the least he could do for them while Mrs. Weasley was aghast at the thought of making a guest cook for her). Harry would eat and do some of his summer assignments or just read for pleasure while the Weasley children would start trickling down, still more asleep than awake. For the rest of the day the children would either go swimming in the pond, play a pick-up game of quidditch or do some chores for Mrs. Weasley (or maybe all three). The evenings were spent either doing homework, reading, playing cards or other indoor activities until it was time for bed so Harry could repeat it all the next day.

But today Harry had to contend with the minister and whatever the minister and/or ministry wanted from him. Mr. Weasley, who had a good friend in the department of under-aged magic, reported that though the incident was picked up by the ministry, it had already been declared a mistake and was stricken from the records. Never mind the fact that the levitation spell that Harry was accused of was really performed by Dobby the house-elf.

Obviously something fishy was going on. Harry wasn't sure what, but if they thought they could manipulate him so easily then they were dead wrong.

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Cornelius Fudge – _the _minister of magic, thank you very much – sat at his desk impatiently waiting for the boy hero Harry Potter to show up. At his side stood his trusty subordinate and Senior Undersecretary Delores Umbridge; who was also the one to think of this ingenious plot.

When Fudge had first stepped into office all those years ago, he had been mighty nervous. He had been the underdog in the election and despite his wife's optimism he hadn't thought he'd actually win. Cornelius reminisced about those times with a small frown; he had been so insecure he called Albus Dumbledore, the then (and still) considered greatest and wisest wizard of the time for advice at all hours and with much frequency. Well not anymore! Thanks to his second in command Delores Umbridge, and his good friend Lucius Malfoy, Cornelius realized that he had merely been a puppet of Dumbledore's manipulations. Cornelius was the minister _not_ Albus! Since realizing that fact, Fudge felt like the king of the world. In his mind he was. After all, everyone _knows _that muggles can't hope to compare with the likes of wizards and there's no other wizarding culture as strong as the British. Why, three of the five strongest wizards and witches of the last two centuries were born in England! So being the leader of such a powerful and progressive society obviously meant that he himself was wise and powerful.

But then it all fell apart. Sirius Black, the infamous traitor and murderer, had escaped the inescapable Azkaban prison. His opposition were quick to point fingers, blaming him for allowing the man to escape and noting that the greatest icon in the Wizarding world, Harry Potter, would probably die due to his incompetence and inability to protect him and the other children (since everyone knew that Potter would be Black's main target). Well, Cornelius could not allow that to happen, so he sent the most ruthless of hunters to guard and protect Harry Potter and Hogwarts – dementors. Despite Albus' arguments Fudge could not risk Black getting his hands on Harry Potter since if that happened he might as well never show his face again, let alone keep his job as minister for what the wizarding public (led by his opposition of course) would do to him.

The good news was that Harry Potter was still alive and well. The bad news was the Sirius Black had been innocent all along and had died to _save _Harry Potter. It hadn't taken long for the public outcry to start, demanding to know why an innocent, heroic_, _and all around good man such as Sirius Black had been locked up in such an awful place as Azkaban (never minding the fact that these same people were themselves completely convinced of Black's guilt not even a few weeks earlier). Panic had started to spread, people wondering if there were any more unjustly accused prisoners and more importantly if they or someone they loved was next to find themselves imprisoned when innocent.

Only the fact that Cornelius hadn't been minister when Black was locked away saved him from impeachment. But even still, he was under heavy criticism for not ensuring Black got a trial once the chaos and confusion from the war died down since he had all the inmates' records on hand (and therefore knew that Black never got a trial) as he did his annual Azkaban prison inspection.

But despite all the bad press around him at the moment, there was still a way for him to became the most loved minister of all time and it would happen literally overnight. Harry Potter. He was the wizarding world's darling, he was hope and light personified to the people. If Cornelius could get Harry Potter to publicly support him as minister, his all-time low ratings of approval would do a 180 into an all-time high ratings of approval.

Just then, Fudge's salvation knocked on the door. Fudge hurriedly checked his appearance and straightened in his chair – he needed to appear strong but kind, powerful but compassionate.

"Come in."

Harry opened the door to the minister's office taking in the sight of the portly man with a bowler hat behind the large desk and the unpleasant looking squat lady standing beside him.

"I got a letter for a meeting regarding under-aged magic...?" Harry started, letting it trail off so the adults could take the lead.

"Ah yes," the minister said "come, sit down, sit down." The man said with a kind smile. "Would you like anything to eat or drink?" Harry just shook his head hoping to get this meeting over and done with. "Very well then. Now Harry," Fudge spoke his eyes straight on the boy and his tone far more serious than it was a second ago. "I know you're rather new to the wizarding world and our laws, what with growing up in the muggle world and all, but you see there is a law against under-aged magic. Now, now, I don't blame _you_ of course for your violation," the minister continued, switching back to his kind and friendly voice "but you must understand that there are consequences to your actions and you really ought to listen to your elders when they tell you something."

Harry carefully schooled his features, keeping his eyes wide instead of the narrowed state they wished to be in. So that was what this meeting was about; they wanted to control him. After all, what chance does a normal twelve year old have in the face of a misdemeanour and the judgement of one of the most politically powerful man in society. Harry decided to play their game for the moment and act like the naive boy they thought him as.

"I didn't mean to," Harry replied, omitting any mention of Dobby. "I wasn't even touching my wand when it happened! McGonagall said that it was accidental magic last year and said it happened to everyone without our control!"

Cornelius and Delores shared a look at that piece of information. They couldn't technically press charges against accidental magic since it was just that; accidental. But once children start attending school and learning spells, their magic is supposed to be more in their control and incidences of accidental magic become practically nonexistent. He could be lying, but he was still young enough for it to be a plausible excuse and in any case the goal of this meeting had nothing to do with the actual guilt or innocence of the boy.

"Hem, hem." The toad-like woman gave out a small fake cough to gain Harry's attention. "Be that as it may, you had already received a notice when leaving Hogwarts about performing magic during the summer. This is a serious offense you must realize; especially for you who lives amongst the muggles for you could reveal our whole society and put everyone in danger of barbaric witch hunts."

Harry mentally shook his head at the speech, easily seeing through the bad cop act and avoiding the guilt she wanted to induce.

"Never fear my boy," Fudge said, taking the role of good cop "I understand that you're young and accidents happen. So this time – and this time only mind you – I'm going to let you off with a warning."

Harry only nodded his acceptance, to Fudge's disappointment. Harry however could barely keep his derisive remarks at bay, let alone gush out the thanks and praise that the minister was obviously expecting from him.

"Yes, well, now that that is sorted out," Fudge continued, not quite as surefooted as he was before "I wanted to talk to you about your late god-father Sirius Black."

Harry straightened up a bit; they were getting to the real reason he was summoned here.

"Yes, what about him?"

"I would like to extend a formal apology on behalf of the ministry of magic for the abysmal lack of justice and would like to award him an Order of Merlin, first class, for his deeds. There will of course be a formal ceremony and everything, I just thought that you, as his heir, should know since you would be the one receiving it in his behalf."

Though Fudge wished Harry could just have a press conference talking about how great the boy thought that he is, life was never that simple. Harry was still very young and Fudge had to move slowly and carefully for things to work out the way he wanted. By "dismissing" the charges of under-aged magic Potter was sure to look up to the minister in a favourable light. Then by honoring the man who had saved him with a very public ceremony, it would cause the boy to be further enamored with the minister while showing the public that Harry forgave the ministry and trusted it not to make the same mistake again. Maybe they can even get the boy to say something along those lines during the acceptance speech, even add in how it was Black's wish to forgive the ministry as well. And as time passes Fudge will slowly but surely ensnare Harry closer to himself and further from Albus' manipulative influence and life will be perfect. Cornelius almost sighed dreamily at the lovely image.

Harry however was anything but enamored and content. They dare think that some stupid award will make their past deeds alright?! Harry refused to be played.

"I don't think I'm the best person to accept the award; I might have been his godson but I barely knew him. You should ask Remus Lupin – from what I understand those two had been close friends for years before Sirius' imprisonment."

Minister Fudge flinched at the name while the woman just looked disgusted and angry before schooling her face into a sickly sweet smile.

"I don't think you understand dear," she simpered "Lupin is a _werewolf_." She said as if just saying the word was unbearable. "He is not fit for civilized society and his kind isn't the type for functions such as this."

For the first time Harry let a shadow of what he was really thinking through and spoke with a disapproving frown. "Wait; you're not letting Sirius Black's closest friend come to Sirius Black's award ceremony?"

"You see Harry," Fudge spoke trying to do some damage control "it's not that we don't _want _him there, it's more that he wouldn't want to go – werewolves aren't very social creatures and don't enjoy dressing up and going to functions and whatnot."

"But Professor Lupin was fine at Hogwarts," Harry retorted. "He was one of the best teachers I've ever had and didn't have a problem socializing with students or the rest of the faculty. In fact nobody even knew he was a werewolf until the end of the year. I'm sure if I sent him a letter he'd be more than happy to accept the award in Sirius' stead."

Fudge was close to pulling his hair out in frustration. The werewolf couldn't accept the award! Any good press they'd get for awarding Sirius Black would be tainted by the fact that a werewolf was the one who accepted it. No one cares if the werewolf forgives the ministry; they needed the Boy-Who-Lived's approval!

"If that's all, I'll just send Mr. Lupin a letter when I get home." Harry said getting up from his seat "It was nice meeting you." And with that said Harry left before he could be called back.

Harry could have pushed the issue more and even brought up some more issues like the fact that Sirius, or himself as Sirius' heir, didn't any monetary compensation for the unjust imprisonment; that Hermione wasn't even given a formal apology for almost having her soul sucked out (let alone the apology owed to the public at large for allowing something as dangerous as dementors near a school); that they didn't take any steps to making sure that everyone gets a fair unbiased trial so the same thing never happens again; and a dozen other issues. But Harry still wanted to keep up his appearance of a naive 12 year old - even if it was a slightly difficult naive 12 year old.

Back in the minister's office Fudge and Umbridge stood in tense silence. Though the meeting wasn't a complete failure, it didn't go the way they had planned. Umbridge felt herself shudder with the knowledge that Potter was fond of that _werewolf._ How disgusting!

"Obviously the boy is already far in Dumbledore's influence." Fudge spoke up, trying to explain why the boy hadn't been falling over himself is haste to do as the great Minister of Magic wished of him.

"Of course." Umbridge was not as self-deluded as Fudge and knew that wasn't the reason, but she hated Dumbledore and his insistence of protecting and helping repulsive half-breeds and creatures and any reason to turn the minister against the man was a good enough reason for her.

Fudge was deep in thought. "There has to be some way to lessen Dumbledore's influence and yet make sure that the ministry provides a comforting and helping hand to the boy..."

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Arthur Weasley smiled fondly at his family as he took a sip of tea. 35 years ago he never would have dreamed that he'd have such a life. He already had had a crush on Molly at the time, and had whimsically pictured himself getting some high paying exciting job, allowing Molly to live like a queen and getting their two or three children the top of the line brooms and robes. Then on a whim he had taken muggle studies. It had only been for a bird course, something easy that he could spare little time on and still get a good grade. Instead he had found his passion. Unfortunately no one else in the wizarding world seemed to share his appreciation of all things muggle; muggleborns were used to electricity and the idea of living without magic so hardly saw what the big deal was, while the purebloods found it barbaric and beneath them. But Molly (who he managed to date and then marry) convinced him that he ought to be true to himself and pursue a job he loved despite the low salary. And even when the number of children kept increasing beyond the two or three he had originally pictured, his beautiful wife still insisted he keep his job instead of going for the higher paying positions.

So he didn't have the large salary, his house was often in disrepair and was always loud and busy, and he took budgeting and penny-pinching to a whole new level. He still considered himself one of the (if not _the_) luckiest men on the earth. He had a wife whom he was still deeply in love with even after being married for 25 years, he had seven outstanding children who meant the world to him and a job he genuinely enjoyed.

His smile faded a bit as his gaze swept over his youngest son's friend. He had watched as his sons became more and more worried as time passed by with no word from the boy. Truth be told Arthur had already booked a day of work to go check up on him, but his sons had gotten to the scarred preteen first. But his relief and happiness at seeing Harry safe and sound had turned into anger thanks to the conversation that the twins had insisted on having while Molly was trying to stuff Harry to the brink with food.

"Arthur dear, are you sure you don't want to join us in Diagon Alley? I mean, what's the point of taking the day off if you're going into the office anyway." Molly asked, interrupting Arthur's thoughts.

The faces of his twin sons' uncharacteristically serious faces and troubled eyes briefly flashed before his eyes before responding.

"I'll join you later; I just want to stop by the office quickly to finish up on the Williamson report." Mr. Weasley replied, giving his wife a quick peck on the cheek before dodging around various teens and preteens on his way outside. With a small pop the balding red-head found himself in the nearby town, and stepped into the muggle police station.

Mr. Weasley thought back to his conversation with the twins while waiting for the woman at the front desk to finish her phone conversation. When Fred and George had quietly pulled him aside after Molly had finished her rant about them stealing the car and was focused on their young guest, Arthur never dreamed he'd be listening to his sons tell about how Harry Potter had been locked up like an animal, or how they thought Harry's relatives starved him. As a proud father of seven, child abuse was an unthinkable notion and just about the worst thing in the world to Arthur. But the twins' serious faces and shaded eyes convinced him they were serious – the Boy-Who-Lived was being horribly mistreated by his muggle relatives. Arthur would have loved to contact a few auror friends of his and get those muggles a one way ticket to Azkaban, but unfortunately the ministry (or more like the minister and a handful of other higher-ups) would just make a huge production out of it and try to use it to further their own goals – especially now after the whole Sirius Black fiasco. So to do anything for Harry through the ministry of magic would result in nothing good (proof in that meeting Harry had to attend for under-age magic compared to just getting a warning that every other student gets for their first offence). But Arthur could not in good conscience leave the situation as it was.

Therefore Arthur decided to fight the muggle way.

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Harry squeezed through the throng of people in the crammed-pack bookstore looking for the law section. The Weasleys had chosen a poor day to go back-to-school shopping since some famous author was having a book signing at Flourish and Blotts, which meant that finding the school books and waiting to buy them would take all day.

'But then again' Harry thought looking back at Mrs. Weasley as she straightened out her clothing and craned her neck to catch a glimpse of the writer Gilderoy Lockhart 'maybe it wasn't an accident Mrs. Weasley took us out today.'

After grabbing _A Wizard's Guide To Wizarding Laws and Government_, Harry tried to browse as much as he was able to while keeping a eye out for any of the mandatory school books and Hermione, who with her parents, had met up with Harry and the Weasleys at the Leaky Cauldron. Besides Percy the other Weasley boys had decided not to brave the store since Harry had told Ron and the twins that he could share his Lockhart books with them and they had all the other text books handed down from their older siblings.

After a few more books (including one on animagi and a couple on transfiguration – Naruto had been absorbing all his transfiguration notes and books like a sponge – Harry paid for his purchases and went searching for the others. He found Mrs. Weasley in the line for autographs about thirty people away from the coiffed celebrity.

"Ah! There you are dear," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, still paying more attention to the author at the table than anything else. Harry thought the man looked like a male Barbie; vapid and fake. "Arthur had arrived about fifteen minutes ago and suggested taking you children to finish off your shopping while I wait in line here. Everyone is waiting just outside the store for you."

Harry nodded his thanks before pushing and squeezing his way outside. But the scene he arrived at wasn't one he was expecting. Mr. Weasley sported a split lip while he and Hagrid picked up various books and school supplies strewn on the ground. The twins were catcalling and making a big celebration of something, Percy looked disapproving and Hermione's parents looked rather stunned. Harry walked over to Ron and Hermione for information.

"What did I miss?" Harry asked.

"Well you know Draco?" Hermione replied, since Ron seemed to be too bemused to answer.

"Yeah..."

"Well, we had bumped into him and his father while we were waiting for you. Of course Ron and Malfoy just _had_ to get into it, and when Mr. Weasley tried to break them up Mr. Malfoy said something derogatory about him and my family. The next thing I knew Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy were fist-fighting! Luckily Hagrid happened to be passing by and put a stop to it."

"You should have been there Harry!" George exclaimed, throwing an arm over the green-eyed boy's shoulders.

"Yeah, I reckon Malfoy Sr. will be sporting a black eye thanks to dad's left hook!" Fred added, mimicking his twin on Harry's other side.

"Boys!" Mr. Weasley called out "If you have the energy to jump on Harry you can help pick up the school supplies."

The twins groaned before doing as their father asked. Percy just gave a small humph to his brothers' actions.

"You shouldn't take this as some sort of joke; Lucius Malfoy is a powerful man and very close to Minister Fudge. This fight could have cost dad his job! He shouldn't have let Mr. Malfoy's words get to him!"

Arthur just looked at his son neutrally. "I agree I shouldn't have done what I did, but at the same time there are more important things in life than your job; standing up for what you believe in is one of them."

"Yeah Perce;" Ron spoke up "besides, Malfoy a git anyway. He deserved it."

"Don't be so quick to judge Ronald." Percy retorted "Mr. Malfoy did help pick up some of the mess, like a gentleman, after all."

"Yeah, only three books." Ron muttered under his breath. "That reminds me," Ron spoke suddenly turning towards his sister "you should disinfect all your books Gin. I'd hate for you to get evil slimy Slytherin germs."

Hermione just rolled her eyes at Ron's childishness as they left towards the next shop.

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"You wanted to see me Ojiisan?" Naruto asked as he stood in front of the Hokage. Said Hokage took a moment to look over the blond boy in front of him and reminisce on how he grew over the years as he took a puff from his pipe.

"Yes. As you know you're going into your last year of the academy, and once you earn your hitai-ite and reach the rank of genin, you will officially be considered an adult of Konohagakure no sato. That means that I'll no longer be providing you money through the orphans fund come July. You're apartment is already paid off, but you'll have to pay for your own utilities, clothes and food on top of any other weapons or things you wish to buy. In light of this, I have decided that once a week you will come here so that I may teach you about how to run your finances and all the other skills a capable adult will need to know."

To Naruto it didn't sound like much fun, and he already could do most of this stuff since the old man just paid for utilities and the apartment while Naruto used his pay from his job for the rest (though the Third made sure that a certain amount of Naruto's salary was to be spent only towards food and clothes, it was Naruto who ultimately spent it on those things). But the blond knew that the old man wouldn't have taken time out of his busy schedule to organize these meetings unless it was important. And Naruto guessed it wasn't all bad – he'd be spending time with one of his precious people after all and it was to learn skills that's important for all ninjas even if it's not as glorified (or as fun) as fighting.

Seeing the boy's small nod the Third smiled. "Good, we will begin you're lessons this Saturday at 9 a.m. I know that you might be all that excited about these lessons, but just keep in mind that no Kage can be a good one without intimate knowledge in the grueling art of budgeting."

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Harry frowned as he dug through his truck looking for something to read for the long journey to Hogwarts. He just _knew _that this year was going to be a pain. He hadn't even gotten to school yet and something had already happened!

Harry and the Weasleys (except Mr. Weasley, who was at work and the two oldest who were moved out) had scrambled that morning to get all their stuff in order and make the Hogwarts Express on time. They barely had any time to spare as they made a mad dash towards the hidden platform and the train it housed. Unfortunately, when Ron and Harry (who had gone through the barrier last), had tried to cross, they were met with a solid wall. Panicked about the possibility of missing the train, Ron had wanted to take the flying car to Hogwarts. Thankfully Harry had enough sense to talk him out of it, and convinced Ron to wait until Mrs. Weasley came back to figure something out.

They didn't have to wait long as Mrs. Weasley soon noticed that she was short two children and went back through the suddenly crossable barrier to get Harry and Ron on the train as it was pulling out of the station. It seemed that Ron had already pushed the incident out of his head, convinced that it was just a glitch or something in the barrier. Harry however didn't believe in coincidences and couldn't help but remember the house-elf who had been so adamant he not return to Hogwarts that it was willing to put Harry in the mercy of the Dursleys and the minister. But who knows, maybe Harry's gut feeling was wrong.

Harry snorted. As if.

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Naruto was all but flying as he eagerly made his way to the academy to start his final year. After the blatant disregard Tori-sensei (his last year's instructor) had of Naruto and the students that came from ninja clans (which was over half of the class), well the council was quick to make sure she wouldn't be teaching their class again. So finally, after suffering two years with biased teachers, Naruto would once again be having Iruka as his teacher; his favorite sensei of all time.

Suddenly someone jumped in front of his path, causing the blond to skid to a halt.

"Kiba! What's the big deal?! Iruka-sensei will kill us if we're late!"

The animalistic boy just gave a toothy grin. "Ah, but that's assuming we're going to class in the first place."

Naruto was perplexed – of course they were going to class! It was Iruka-sensei, the best teacher ever, who was going to be their sensei! It wasn't like they were just going to be ignored and mistreated this year, so there was no reason to skip.

"What are you talking about dog-breath! Iruka-sensei isn't like the other teachers we had, so we don't have to skip."

"Exactly!" Kiba exclaimed. "Iruka-sensei isn't anything like Tori-sensei or Hideto-sensei; Iruka's competent. Tori-sensei didn't really care if we skipped; heck she even encouraged it. And Hideto-sensei could never stop or catch us. But as for Iruka-sensei; well he'd be very tough to get away from. So it's better to skip right off the bat then go to school and then having to escape later."

The blue-eyed boy thought over Kiba's logic. While what he said was true, it didn't really give them a good excuse to skip in the first place.

Sensing his friend's disagreement, Kiba sought to convince him.

"Come on Naruto; Shikamaru and Chouji are already waiting for us. Besides, you know that nothing important ever happens on the first day of class. If you really want we can go to school for the rest of the week after this."

Seeing that Naruto was now considering the proposal, Kiba brought out the big guns.

"We were going to stop by Ichikaru's ramen stand..."

...

Later that same day Iruka felt his eyebrow twitch as the four empty spots seemed to mock him. The young teacher swore he'd track down those kids if it was the last thing he did. _Nobody _skipped his class and got away with it!

* * *

A/N: I know some people are surprised with how hard Harry took Sirius' death at first considering he only knew Sirius for a short amount of time, and before then thought he was a traitorous mass-murderer. But Harry isn't so much upset that Sirius died, but more the fact of what Sirius represented for only a short amount of time – an adult who would go through hell for him, someone who would put Harry first, who he could depend on and be a kid around. Basically a father. And as much as Harry tries to convince himself that he doesn't want or need that, he was just an eleven year old boy. So this is him coming to terms with his secret desire of having a parent and the knowledge that it will never be realised. It also allows Naruto to take the role as caregiver and comforter for a bit, showing both Harry's insecure side and Naruto's serious side.

Secondly, I had decided to omit the whole flying car thing since I can't picture Harry really agreeing to it. I mean of all possible good ideas of things to do in that situation, flying an illegal car half-way across the island isn't very high on the list. I also don't think it likely that Mrs. Weasley wouldn't notice that Ron and Harry hadn't made it onto the platform. I come from a large family myself, and I think it made my mom even more aware than average mothers as to where we were since there was a greater chance of one of us being left behind. To not notice two of the kids were missing when she always makes a point to hug and kiss all her children goodbye before leaving on the train is something I don't see happening.

**What was Harry's patronus form? And will Harry and Naruto become animagi?**

As my beta can attest to, I originally had the patronus in the form of a fox since I wanted it to be a representation of Naruto. But as I already told Morgan Daratrazanoff when she left a review back in chapter 10 or something, I didn't really want to stick to the old cliché of having Naruto as a fox animagus; they're not really pack animals which Naruto definitely is. Since I couldn't really think of an animal that suited Naruto perfectly, I just avoided naming which animal it was. As for whether the two will become animagi; they will at least learn the theory of it, and probably learn the whole process but not for a long while (and even if they do become animagi it won't be a big part of the story). I still haven't decided on their forms. Feel free to give suggestions like Morgan Daratrazanoff who suggested Australian dingo for Naruto and a black wolf for Harry.

**What about the part of Voldemort's soul in Harry? And what about the Kyuubi?**

For the purpose of my story, everything from HPB and DH never happened and never will happen. So there are no horcruxes (horcruxi?). Don't worry, I'll explain how Voldemort survived so long without a body and everything, but right now it isn't an important plot point so you must have patience. So even though Harry and Voldemort are still linked, Harry's not a horcrux.

As for the Kyuubi; well I'm pretty much going to stick to the canon in terms of that. There's no rush for Naruto to meet the demon so it won't be happening anytime soon. Unless I get attacked by plot bunnies (like I was for Sirius), I don't plan to change my general outline of the story (I have things figured out more or less until the end of Harry's third year/right before the Naruto time-skip).


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: I don't own anything.

* * *

It was official – Lockhart was a major tool.

Although it didn't really surprise Harry much after his first impression in the bookstore (and after reading two of his books, which were more like cheesy action films than text books), there was still an itsy-bitsy _tiny_ sliver of hope that the man was actually competent, if not incredibly self-centered (what with all that he had apparently accomplished). But no, the sparkly-teethed man had to go ruin all his credibility as he demonstrated his inability to even deal with something as simple as pixies. Harry bemoaned the fact that Lupin was forced to resign after the board of governors and the public at large found out that he was a werewolf at the end of his first year.

But Harry wouldn't have minded so much if Lockhart was just an idiot teacher (Harry was more than used to learning on his own), but the fact that Lockhart was fixated on the Boy-Who-Lived and his fame ensured that Harry would hate DADA a lot this year. Lockhart was trying to push his way into a mentor position with the green-eyed boy and was constantly giving unwanted (and frankly ridiculous) advice. It didn't help that one of the first-year gryffindors was a huge fan and a stalker of the boy-hero and acted as Harry's personal paparazzi.

So lost in his angry thoughts that Harry wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings and crashed into someone as he rounded a corner, causing the other person to drop all their books.

"I'm sorry about that." A sheepish Harry apologized to the young Ravenclaw girl. "I wasn't watching where I was going. Let me help you pick up your stuff."

"Thank you Harry Potter." The misty-eyed girl replied. "Don't worry, it wasn't your fault; the wrackspurts are quite active today."

"I see..." Harry replied, extremely confused as to what a wrackspurt was. Though Harry wasn't surprised she knew his name (who in the wizarding world didn't know it?), he was surprised she didn't seem to care one way or another that he was the boy-who-lived since her voice stayed in the same dreamy tone. "What's your name?"

"Luna, Luna Lovegood." The girl replied as she took the last book that Harry picked up. "I expect I'll be seeing you around quite often."

"Maybe." Harry conceded with a smile. He couldn't help but take a liking to someone eccentric enough who wore what looked like radishes as earrings. "Well, see you around then."

But just as Harry started to make his way towards herbology once again, Luna called out to him one more time.

"Tell Naruto I said hello."

And with those parting words she was gone.

Harry could only stare dumbfounded at where she disappeared around the corner. She was right about one thing; he'd definitely be seeing her again if he had anything to say about it!

* * *

"Naruto-kun!"

Naruto looked around for the source of the yell and was quickly confronted with some sort of green beast.

"L-Lee? Is that you bushy-brows?"

Rock Lee didn't look anything like he did the last time Naruto had seen his friend. He had traded his white gi top and black pants for a spandex green body suit and cut his long braid to fashion his hair in a bowl cut. If it wasn't for the eyes (and more importantly, the freakishly giant eyebrows that Naruto still wasn't completely convinced wasn't going to jump out from his friend's face to start devouring everything in its path), Naruto wouldn't have recognized the other boy.

"Hai! We had just returned from our first ever C-rank mission so Gai-sensei has given us the rest of the afternoon off to rest our youthful flames until tomorrow!"

Naruto just looked over his friend not really knowing how to react. Sure Lee has always been hyper and enthusiastic, but never quite so...eccentric. The blond just shrugged it off; enthusiasm and oddness were hardly enough to put him off.

"Really? What was it like? Did you have to fight anyone? Did you kick their butt? Tell me, tell me!"

Naruto was glad for this opportunity to catch up with the older boy; they hadn't seen each other since the end of the last school year when they had been helping each other study and practice for the genin exams. Naruto had failed for the second time, but Lee had passed and was on a team with Maito Gai; the sensei Lee had been hoping to get.

"Yosh! Missions are truly excellent, for it gives me and my teammates the chance to allow our flames of youth to burn ever brighter and for our youthful passion to help others! We -"

Naruto listened in excitedly as Lee enthusiastically talked about his youthful sensei and his teammates; even the not-so-youthful Neji. He couldn't wait till the end of the year, when he would be a genin as well.

"Hey, we should train together or spar sometime." Naruto suggested.

"Hai! That would be most excellent Naruto-kun! I would like nothing better than to participate in a youthful challenge such as that!"

Naruto and Lee continued talking and hanging out for a few more hours before they split off with the promise of training and sparing together soon. Though Naruto had been upset that he had failed the genin exam for the second time all those months ago, he was glad that Lee (who everyone didn't think would make it due to his limited chakra abilities) had not only passed but was on the one team that made it past the jounin's test. As he walked towards his apartment, the blond vowed that like Lee he would show all those who had laughed at him and scoffed at his dream.

* * *

His footsteps echoed loudly in the empty corridor as Harry hurriedly made his way towards the Great Hall where the Halloween feast was ending. He glanced at his watch. It looked like he'd be missing the feast for the second year running.

Earlier that month Harry had promised the Gryffindor ghost, Nearly-Headless Nick, that he'd attend his 500th death-day party after the ghost had helped him avoid detention with the school's mean tempered custodian, Mr. Filch. His friends had decided to come as well, whether for curiosity's sake (Hermione), just to stay with friends (Neville), or because they were all but dragged there (Ron). Unfortunately the party wasn't nearly as fun as it sounded.

They were the only living people at the party, and the majority of the ghosts were rather depressing (especially the ghost of a sixteen year old girl who, according to Hermione, lived in the castle haunting a girl's bathroom on the second floor). The only food they had was at least a month old and beyond moldy. Even the death-day ghost himself wasn't having a good time, especially when the Headless Hunt (a group of ghosts who had all died from being beheaded) arrived and stole the show. Hungry, cold and bored the four students had desperately wanted to leave and attend what was left of the Halloween feast in the Great Hall. Harry had convinced his friends to go on without him while he tracked down Nearly Headless Nick to say goodbye. Unfortunately it took longer than he thought it would and Harry doubted he would get to the Great Hall in time. Hopefully the others had nicked some food for him to eat in the common room.

But Harry's idle thoughts were interrupted when a chilling voice was heard.

"Kill....rip....eat.....sooo hungry....."

He stopped in his tracks, trying to locate the origin of the voice, since it sounded so close and yet he could see no one in the long corridor.

"Blood...I smell blood!"

Harry's eyes widened as the bodiless voice somehow went straight up to the next floor. Harry hurriedly found and sprinted up the closest staircase, mentally crossing off someone with an invisibility cloak on his list of possible explanations. Harry stopped running once he no longer heard the creepy muttering of the bodiless voice, and instead started to cautiously make his way closer. At the end of the hall there was a large puddle of water and a message written in red on the wall. Beside the ominous message, hanging from a torch bracket on the wall, was Mrs. Norris. But the cat was unusually stiff and didn't seem to notice its predicament.

Harry pulled out his wand and used a diagnostic spell on the cat. He didn't think it was dead; he had come too quickly for rigor mortis to set in so if Mrs. Norris was deceased, her limbs should be hanging loose and floppy, not stiffly tucked in.

'It couldn't have been from a stunner,' Harry thought, now becoming very intrigued as to what had caused the cat to be in such a state. 'or else she'd just be unconscious and not frozen in that position. It wasn't the body bind, since that just freezes the body and doesn't make them unconscious. It's not a combination of both either since her breathing and pulse is so low and weak I can barely detect it...'

"What do you think you're doing?"

Harry swiftly spun around, wand raised, to confront whoever had been able to sneak up on him. He relaxed slightly at seeing it was only Mr. Filch; Filch, Dumbledore and Snape were the only ones who knew the castle as well as he did and could move around silently. But Harry was always able to sense the professors due to their strong magic, while Filch was always much harder to detect.

Unfortunately, before Harry could explain the situation, Filch caught sight of his beloved pet hanging from the bracket.

"Mrs. Norris!! No! What happened?!"

Harry could now hear the approaching sound of feet. Apparently the feast had ended and now the students were drawn by the commotion.

"What did you do to her?!" Filch yelled at Harry, a crazy glint in his eye. "I'll kill you!!"

Harry deftly avoided Filch's hands as he hoped a teacher would come soon so he wouldn't be forced to subdue Filch himself; and therefore get into even more trouble. Thankfully his prayer was quickly answered as what seemed to be the whole school piled in the corridor, straining their necks to catch sight of Mrs. Norris and the ominous message.

"_The Chamber of Secrets has been opened_." Draco Malfoy read aloud, swaggering forward from the crowd. "_Enemies of the Heir beware_. You know what that means Potter – all the filthy mudbloods and squibs like that piece of filth" Malfoy said indicating the custodian who was now cradling Mrs. Norris' form to his chest. "will get what they deserve."

"Mr. Malfoy! 50 points from Slytherin for such language! Additionally, you will meet me in my office tomorrow at 6 o'clock sharp for your first of many detentions." Professor McGonagall said, booking no room for arguments.

"Now, now Minerva," Snape spoke, walking up next to her as they finally found there way to the source of the commotion. "I think you're losing track of the situation. The first order of business is to find out what Potter has done to that poor cat, then we can deal with something as trivial as bad language."

"I haven't done anything to Mrs. Norris!" Harry growled out.

"Liar!" Filch yelled out, looking ready to try and strangle the boy once again. "You had your wand out when I found you! Admit it!

"I was _trying_ to find out what was wrong with her!" Harry defended himself. "I only used a diagnostic charm; that's it."

"You'll only make things worse for yourself by lying." Snape injected. "You're golden boy status won't save you from being expelled for something like this."

Before Harry could retort another voice spoke up. "That's enough Severus." Dumbledore said, though Harry and Snape both picked up on the command behind it. "It's a simple enough spell to see if Harry is telling the truth. Your wand, if you please, Harry." And with that said Dumbledore took Harry's wand and tapped his own against it after muttering a spell. Harry's wand emitted what looked to be a ghost image of the diagnostic spell and Dumbledore handed Harry back his wand looking satisfied.

"There; as you can see Mr. Potter was telling the truth. However we still need to find out what happened, so prefects!" the headmaster called out. "If you could kindly escort the students back to the dormitories. And Mr. Potter, I would like you to accompany us and tell us all you know about tonight."

Harry glumly followed behind his professors, wondering if staying at Hogwarts was worth all the hassle he constantly found himself in.

* * *

"So just what is the Chamber of Secrets?" Naruto asked as he leisurely swam around in the giant lake within the dream scape.

"It's an old legend that has to do with the four wizards that founded the school over a thousand years ago." Harry replied. "Hermione asked Binns, our history professor, about it. It was the only time I can remember where people were interested in his class and not falling asleep during it. I think it was probably the first time in his memory as well."

"So, tell me!" the blond demanded.

"Basically, Hogwarts was founded by the four strongest witches and wizards of the age; Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin."

"Hmm, what are the chances that all their parents happened to be into alliteration..." Naruto mused.

"Do you want me to tell the story, or what?" Harry asked.

"Sorry, sorry; it's just that wizards seem to have the strangest names..."

"I agree with you there." Harry said. "Anyway; so they built the school and invited children with magical potential to learn from them. The only problem was that Slytherin disagreed with the others about who to invite. He didn't think they should have allowed children with no magical parents into the school, since he didn't want to deal with parents and muggles who thought witchcraft was a tool of the devil and whatnot. The others thought it was worse to leave an untrained wizard alone and felt that everyone deserved to learn despite their backgrounds. In the end Slytherin left the school. The Chamber of Secret stems from the rumor that Slytherin, before leaving the school, had built a secret chamber where he left a monster to finish his noble work and rid the school of muggleborns."

Naruto thought over what he had just heard. "So basically people think that someone found the chamber of secrets and opened it to make it attack? But why attack the cat? I thought it was supposed to attack muggleborns?"

"Well, thanks to Malfoy, it's now general knowledge that Flich, the cat's owner, is a squib – someone from a magical family who can't do magic themselves." Harry replied.

"Yeah, but wouldn't that mean that Filch should be the target, not the cat?" Naruto asked.

"Who knows." Harry stated with a shrug. "Chances are that someone just dosed Mrs. Norris with a potion anyway – Mrs. Norris was frozen while she had been drinking from a puddle. It wouldn't have been too hard for someone to have dumped a potion into the puddle before she had come across it."

"But how would they know the cat would be coming, or that it was even thirsty? And what about the message on the wall?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know," Harry stated. "I'm sure that eventually the culprit will be caught and the details revealed, but until then I'll just try and have a semi-normal year with the added bonus of no Mrs. Norris."

"So you don't think that there really is a chamber, or you that it's been opened?"

"It's possible that there is a chamber of secrets," Harry said. "and I get the impression that Dumbledore thinks it has been opened, but if no one besides the heir has found/opened it in the past thousand years, there must be some sort of blood-ward or something preventing others from finding it. And considering how fanatic some of these purebloods are, if someone in the school was the heir of Slytherin it would be general knowledge. Unless he or she wasn't a pureblood, but in that case why would they open the chamber?"

"Don't stress too much about it." Naruto advised. "Like you said, the antidote for the cat will be ready by the end of the year with no lasting consequences. Besides, it was probably a onetime thing."

Harry just nodded his agreement as continued to laze around in the water.

* * *

_Swoosh!_

Harry cursed as he once again dodged the stupid bludger that had been after him throughout the entire game. Though Harry enjoyed flying and quidditch very much, today it wasn't as fun as every other time. It was raining cats and dogs with no sign of stopping, add that to the high altitudes and speeds he flew in made for a very cold and drenched twelve-year old boy. But that on its own wouldn't have been so unbearable; it would have just added another challenge and element to the game (even if it was an unpleasant one). But the real reason Harry felt so frustrated was right on his tail, determined to land him a place in the infirmary (at the very least).

Bludgers were charmed to attack the player closest to it and try to dislodge them from their brooms. And if they aren't close to a player, they're set to randomly zoom around the pitch. But for whatever reason, this bludger had been stalking him relentlessly all game despite whatever he and the Weasley twins tried. Though Wood had been tempted to call the game to look for tampering, the team knew that if no evidence of bewitchment was found than it would count as a forfeit; something that none of the Gryffindor players wanted.

It hadn't even been a full hour and Harry was getting very cranky with the situation. Malfoy's (who had become Slytherin's seeker this year) taunts and pathetic insults weren't helping Harry's mood either.

'Speaking of crappy insults...' Harry thought as he was forced to do a quick spin and dive in order to preserve his face from getting smashed in.

"Ha! Ha!" Malfoy laughed at Harry from where he was hovering a few meters away. "Nice moves Potty! Are you practicing for the ballet?"

Once he deemed himself safe enough to reply to Malfoy's taunt, he turned to the blonde and sneered. But his retort died in his throat when he noticed the snitch hovering around his schoolmates elbow. Obviously Malfoy himself was oblivious to its presence or else he would have caught it by now, ensuring Slytherin's victory.

But before he could think of a plan to grab the snitch without his rivals notice, the bludger had decided to take the opportunity given while Harry was distracted and smashed into the boy's arm. Harry cried out in pain, and could tell from the unnatural way it was bent that his arm was broken. The green-eyed boy scowled as Malfoy laughed uproariously at his injury. But while the blond indulged in his laughing fit, Harry smirked and flew straight towards his rival.

Draco only had time to look up to see Harry flying straight at him, before falling into a dive trying to escape his apparently crazy schoolmate, whom he thought was trying to get back at him for laughing. But really Harry had just decided to catch the snitch as soon as possible, knowing he wouldn't last long in the air with his broken arm.

The dark-haired boy let go of the broom and caught the snitch with his good arm, smiling triumphantly as he went down to land. Landing while injured proved to be a challenge, and he ended up falling to the ground since he had a bit more momentum than usual. He decided to stay on the ground until one of the professors who had come to watch the game could splint his arm for him or something (he was in too much pain to be confident in his own spell-casting at the moment). Unfortunately it was the very last professor he wished to show up that came first.

"Harry! Excellent catch my boy, excellent! Of course, had I been in your position I would have-"

Harry closed his eyes and groaned as Lockhart's shiny teeth hurt his eyes and his incessant talking hurt his ears. He hoped the man would go away.

"-but no need to worry about your arm; I'll fix it good as new!" Lockhart continued, brandishing his wand with flourish. Harry opened his eyes in alarm, hoping that he had misheard the man and that the incompetent professor wasn't going to do what he thought he was.

"Umm, professor?" Katie Bell and fellow Gryffindor quidditch player interrupted. She and the rest of the team had come to make sure their seeker was okay. "Don't you think we should leave it for Madam Pomphrey? She is the school medi-witch after all."

"Yes!" Harry yelled, panicked at the idea of the blond idiot using magic on him. "I want to go to Madam Pomphrey!"

"Nonsense!" Lockhart chuckled. "Why go all the way to the infirmary when I'm right here? I'll have Mr. Potter good as new in no time!"

Before anyone else could protest, the DADA professor waved his wand in exaggerated motions, yelled out a few words and pointed his wand towards Harry's arm. Harry, boxed in and unable to roll out of the way due to the surrounding students who had come to see how he was, could only close his eyes and pray nothing permanent was done. But judging by the way everybody gasped, his first instinct was right and nothing good happened.

"Ah, well..." Lockhart stuttered, clearly as ill-at-ease as the surrounding students from the outcome of his spell-casting. "That, uh, that happens sometimes."

Unable to prolong it any longer, Harry looked over at his arm. His eyes widened in shock as he took in its floppy and limp state; it looked almost like a balloon that wasn't completely inflated.

"Look on the bright side – he no longer has any broken bones." Lockhart continued his inane prattle.

"That's because you removed them!" Ron yelled out, indignant in his friend's behalf. Harry just closed his eyes, wishing that when he opened them again his bones would magically re-appear in his arm. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

* * *

Harry woke with a start, taking in the silent surroundings of the infirmary. Everything looked calm, but Harry knew that something must have woken him up besides the constant pain in his arm from the Skele-Grow potion he'd been forced to take to re-grow his lost bones. He finally registered the damp cloth on his forehead which definitely hadn't been there when he had fallen asleep.

He reached for his glasses, no longer tired. Once he could see clearly, he noticed that he wasn't alone.

"Dobby? What are you doing here?" Harry asked incredulously. The last time he had seen the house elf, it had gotten him in trouble with both the Dursleys and the Ministry of Magic; and that was after it had admitted to sabotaging his letters from his friends.

"Dobby is sorry Harry Potter for waking you, sir." Dobby answered, head lowered guiltily, "But Dobby is wanting to be sure sir was okay."

"And how did you know I was injured in the first place?" Harry asked, his voice laden with suspicion.

"H-Harry Potter mustn't be mad..." Dobby stuttered, sounding just like he had all those months ago when he had confessed to stealing Harry's mail. "Dobby did it to save Harry Potter sir..."

Harry resisted the urge to groan loudly. "You're the one that set that rogue bludger on me, aren't you?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer.

"Dobby didn't mean to hurt Harry Potter! Dobby only wanted Mr. Harry Potter to be sent home! Away from Hogwarts and safe! Stupid Dobby, getting the Great Harry Potter hurt and upset! Bad Dobby, bad!"

Harry quickly reached over to stop the mad house-elf from banging his head repeatedly against the metal edge of the bed. Once the elf was somewhat calm, Harry decided to use this opportunity to pump the house-elf for information.

"Listen Dobby; I'm sure your heart's in the right place, and I appreciate what you're (theoretically) trying to do for me, but unless I know _why _I'm not safe at Hogwarts I'm not going anywhere."

The house-elf seemed to be fighting with himself for a long moment, debating. When he looked longingly at the lamp on the bedside table, Harry cut in.

"You're worried about the chamber of secrets and the beast within aren't you Dobby?" Harry asked bluntly.

Dobby let out a large gasp of fright and awe. "Harry Potter already knows about the Chamber of Secrets? Then Harry Potter sir should know in how much danger he is! Harry Potter shouldn't be at Hogwarts while the beastie goes free!"

Harry feigned nonchalance. "Why should I have to worry about the Chamber of Secrets? As far as the legend goes, the beast only targets muggleborns, and my parents had been magical. And if you think I'm going to leave my friends, one of which is a muggleborn, on their own in a situation like this then you're mad."

Dobby just stared at Harry with worshiping eyes. "Harry Potter is so noble and brave!" the elf proclaimed, half yelling half crying. "Even though Harry Potter is in mortal danger Harry Potter vows to stay and protect his friends! Harry Potter is too good to die! Harry Potter must leave Hogwarts and stay safe!"

"Look," Harry said, starting to get annoyed "You can't make me leave. Instead of trying to "save" me, how about you help me so I have a better chance at surviving if I ever find myself in the Chamber or face to face with the monster. And I'd have a better chance of coming out alive if I'm not injured from someone trying to get me out of Hogwarts."

Dobby looked down guiltily, and finally nodded his acquiesce. "If Harry Potter is sure he is not leaving Hogwarts, then Dobby will stop trying to get him to leave."

"Thank you Dobby. But you still haven't answered why I would be a target when I'm not muggleborn. You've already said that it had nothing to do with Voldemort when you had visited in the summer. Unless you lied to me?"

"No, no, no, Dobby wouldn't lie to the Great Harry Potter sir!" Dobby shook his head fervently. Then he stopped and stared at Harry intensely. "The Chamber has nothing to do with _You-Know-Who_."

The way Dobby spoke, Harry knew he had been given a huge clue, but for the life of him he didn't know what it was. He pushed it to the back of his mind to figure out later.

"Do you know who opened the Chamber Dobby? Do you work for the heir of Slytherin?"

"No Harry Potter sir; I's do not work for Slytherin's Heir. But my master is the one behind this plot, and it is the heir of Slytherin that opened the chamber."

'Wha-?' Harry thought confusedly. 'Dobby works for the one responsible for having the Chamber opened, yet he isn't the Heir of Slytherin who really opened the Chamber. Well that was about as clear as mud.'

Before Harry could ask for clarification, they sensed people approaching. Dobby gave Harry one last look before he disappeared with a snap from his fingers. Harry quickly lay back down and feigned sleep as he watched through barely open eye-lids as Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore came in, levitating a large object of some kind.

"Poppy! Poppy, we need you!" Professor McGonagall called out after placing the large object on a bed. Harry stifled a gasp of surprise as the object was revealed to him as the professors went in search of the hospital wing matron, allowing the frozen figure of Colin Creevey (camera and all) to be seen clearly in the moonlight.

"Oh my! What happened!" Pomphrey exclaimed as she started doing some diagnostic spells on the prone figure.

"We found him like this at the top of the stairs by the Gryffindor common room. We think he snuck out to see Mr. Potter." McGonagall replied. "When I came across him there was nobody else around, but hopefully he managed to get a picture of his attacker."

But when the adults managed to pry the camera from the stiff fingers and open it, all that was revealed was the black cloud and some sort of black liquid came out. Somehow the attacker had manages to liquefy the film as well as freeze Colin. They sighed in disappointment.

"I guess you're right Albus – the Chamber has truly been opened once again. Who do you think is behind it this time?" McGonagall asked her superior.

"I have no doubt that the person behind these attacks is the same person who opened the Chamber fifty years ago." He replied confidently before leaving the hospital wing and Mr. Creevey to Pomphrey's care.

McGonagall was not the only one who looked after the Headmaster's departing figure in confusion.

* * *

If it had been a bit chaotic after Mrs. Norris' attack, it was nothing compared to the atmosphere after word got around of Collin's petrified state. The professors had ushered them all into the Great Hall for a special assembly before anything got too out of hand, but there was still a tenseness in the air as students huddled in small groups and gossiped about all the different (and mostly untrue) theories they heard concerning the attacks. Harry ignored all the commotion happening around him, even the uncharacteristic scrambling of the professors as he read that morning's newspaper. Idly he wondered what the prophet meant when they said that '_the ministry plans to ensure the safety of the children personally and take a more hands-on approach in concerns the well-being of all who reside in Hogwarts.'_ He had a bad feeling about this.

Just then Dumbledore stood up, gaining everyone's attention. "Settle down students. I know that you have all been alarmed after Mr. Creevey's attack, but have no fear; your professors and I have searched high and low in the castle for any sign of the attacker and we're confident that as long as you stay in groups and keep to the curfew no more attacks will take place. To ensure your safety, the ministry has decided –"

"_Hem, hem_."

Harry whipped around looking at the familiar squat figure making her way towards the head table.

"Thank you Albus," the woman simpered, not at all apologetic that she had interrupted his speech "but I think I can take it from here." Now at the front of the hall, the woman gave a sickly-sweet smile to the students.

"Good morning boys and girls," she spoke "I am Dolores Umbridge; Hogwarts' new ministry liaison."

* * *

A/N: That's right; Umbridge is at Hogwarts! As much as I dislike her character, she sure is fun to write; she brings out the evil in me. (Muah ha ha ha!)

**Q&A**

It seems nobody has any new questions for me, so I'll just remind everyone that they can feel free to suggest animagus forms for Harry and Naruto (and thanks for everyone who already did; there were a lot of good ones that I'm thinking about) and any pairings for Harry (but it has to be somebody from Naruto's world!).


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: While I was trying to find topics for the Third and Naruto to talk about, I realized that I have no idea the cost of anything in the Naruto world - except that Asuma's bounty was 35 million ryo. So I just decided to make up my own prices for things and elaborate on how I think the Naruto world works, some of which you can find in this chapter and some in the author's note at the end (feel free to skip it if you don't care; I mainly added it for my own benefit).

P.S.

I still don't own anything, and thanks for all the reviews!

* * *

Harry understood why Umbridge was there in theory – after getting complaints from scared parents, the ministry would have had to do something or else risk losing even more support from the public. But after that speech from the toad-like lady Harry realised two things: that the ministry decided that Hogwarts and Dumbledore had too much freedom and Delores Umbridge wasn't actually going to help with anything. Harry barely repressed his groan.

But despite whatever soothing effect sending in one of the ministry's toadies was supposed to accomplish, it only made things worse. Students were convinced that the end of the world was near and they were in dire trouble, or else the professors would have been able to handle the situation on their own. And if Dumbledore, who is widely acknowledged as the greatest and strongest wizard of the age, needed help with whatever had attacked Colin...

Well it didn't bode well for the average half-trained student.

It didn't help that nobody trusted Umbridge; she looked down at students as if they were no smarter than 5 year olds, and acted as if you were a nuisance blessed to be in her presence unless she wanted to suck up (like when talking to Lockhart, who she had an obvious crush on) in which case she would use an annoying simpering tone which produced more shudders than someone scratching a blackboard. Even if she was capable and strong (which no one thought she was) the students wouldn't have trusted her after the way the ministry had handled the Sirius Black situation. (Who sent vile soul-sucking dementors to a _school _to protect students from someone who had already proved capable of escaping from them?!).

It wasn't long before an underground black market crept up, selling amulets, talismans and potions that would supposedly keep the buyer safe from Slytherin's monster and the heir himself/herself.

Harry ignored a sixth year Ravenclaw who was selling such products in a shady alcove as he continued on his way to meet Ron, Neville and Hermione at Moaning Myrtle's bathroom; the scene of the Mrs. Norris attack. Because of Myrtle's depressing presence, the bathroom was always empty, so Hermione thought it would be the ideal spot for their base of operations.

Ron was convinced (and Hermione and Neville were willing to test the theory) that Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin and was the one who had attacked Mrs. Norris and Collin. After all, Malfoy didn't seem the least bit disturbed by the school's panic, he had seemed jealous of Collin's devotion towards Harry, had known that Filch was a squib and was a Slytherin from a long line of Slytherins.

To get access to the Slytherin common rooms and interrogate Malfoy when his guard was down (and therefore when Malfoy was none the wiser and had a looser tongue), his friends had decided to make polyjuice potion – a controlled potion that will change the drinker into someone else for a full hour. They got the instructions on how to make it thanks to Lockhart being the air-headed conceited man he was (Hermione only had to ask for an autograph and the man signed the permission slip for access into the restricted section of the library without even realising it).

Harry himself had doubts as to Malfoy being the culprit – Malfoy was too childish and dependant on his father to really plan out and commit a crime such as this – but Harry wasn't going to stop his friends even if he disproved of them going to such lengths for a probable dead end.

* * *

"- of course I was as calm as can be, and merely told the ghastly beast to surrender, else he face the wrath of the Great, Magnificent, Gilderoy Lockhart (five time winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award!)! But being the nasty thing it was, it –"

Harry desperately wished to bang his head repeatedly on the desk; or better yet shut Lockhart's mouth himself, using not-so pleasant means. Anything was better than being forced in detention with this idiot listening to him ramble none-stop whilst answering the man's fan mail. Though just answering the fan mail itself wasn't so bad, Harry thought with a smirk. His sore wrist and numb fingers were well worth the price of writing his own responses to the fans while Lockhart just signed the bottom.

And if the responses become increasingly caustic and insulting the longer the brunette was forced to listen to his professor prattle on, well so what? It's Lockhart's own fault as far as Harry was concerned; he at least could have read over what Harry wrote before signing it.

Just then there was a knock at the door, interrupting "Lockhart" from his written confession to Marie O'Connor about his preference to sleep in woman's nightgowns rather than usual pyjamas since it made him feel pretty.

"Gilderoy?" asked a high-pitched simpering voice, which caused Lockhart to shudder and his smile to become decidedly more faked and strained. "I got worried when you weren't in the staff room and came to see why -" Umbridge spoke as she opened the door, but froze at the sight of Harry.

"Professor Umbridge," Lockhart said shakily.

"Delores." Umbridge corrected, halting her glaring war with Harry long enough to award Lockhart with a smile.

"Ah, yes of course. Delores," Lockhart began again. "You'll have to forgive me for missing our get together, but as you can see I am rather busy supervising a detention with Mr. Potter, so it's probably for the best if we had that talk later; like tomorrow in the Great Hall?"

Umbridge frowned before smoothing her features once again into the sickly looking smile. "Not the Great Hall," the woman said letting loose a little giggle, which made both males shiver, "it's far too crowded. Just send Mr. Potter to Filch to continue his detention and we can have our _meeting _now."

Lockhart audibly gulped and his eyes twitched back and forth looking for a way out of the situation. "Y-yes, about that. W-well, I don't think we should send Mr. Potter, a student, wandering the halls alone after the attack against Mr. Creevey and all. Besides it's rather late, so maybe I ought to escort Mr. Potter straight to his dorm. In fact, it's probably for the best we meet tomorrow since I still have to finish my lesson plans and –"

"Sooo hungry…need food…" Harry jolted at the reappearance of the chilling voice. The last time he had heard it Mrs. Norris had been petrified. But judging from the adults' expressions, they hadn't heard it. Harry was left confused as the voice trailed off in the distance while the adults continued their conversation obliviously.

"Nonsense," Umbridge stated. "I'll escort the boy while you get ready."

She none too gently pulled Harry to his feet and the green-eyed student barely had enough time to grab his backpack before he was bodily dragged out the door. Harry ripped his arm free with a glare and made sure to put some distance between himself and the ministry woman as they walked.

"You think you're so clever, don't you Potter." Umbridge hissed at him once they were further away from Lockhart's office.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Harry replied. He didn't like the ministry employee due to her holier-than-thou attitude and annoying simpering. His dislike increased once it was obvious that she hated his guts, but why Umbridge detested him in the first place was a mystery to Harry.

"You don't think I notice how you monopolize Gilderoy's time?!" The woman seethed. "Face it boy, you'll never amount to anything as close to him and should stop trying to be a part of his greatness and fame."

Harry just stared at her, mouth agape. How could she suggest that he spends time with Lockhart _voluntarily_? It was the other way around – Lockhart was trying to get in on the Boy-Who-Lived's fame and wouldn't leave Harry alone! In fact, this detention was assigned simply for borrowing a quill from Neville since "he hadn't been prepared for class". This woman was delusional if she thought that he wanted to spend more time with the egotistical idiot. But looking at Umbridge's less than aesthetically pleasing figure, he couldn't blame the man for assigning unfair detentions if only to get away from the toad-like woman.

'But then again,' Harry thought as he recalled the hours of mind-numbing one-sided conversation and all those letters 'maybe they deserve each other.'

"You will listen to me while I'm talking to you!" Umbridge spat as she noticed that Harry couldn't care less what she had to say. "I am the Senior Undersecretary of the Minister of Magic! I am worth a hundred of you!"

Harry just barely restrained his snort of derision and disbelief.

"You think you're above the rules, above the _Ministry_, just because of what you've done! Well let me tell you now Potter; the government is the highest authority and we won't let you get away with doing whatever you want anymore! It was your duty to help the ministry after we were so kind as to revoke your incident of under-aged magic, but you didn't! You and Dumbledore are both nothing but trouble, mark my words! If I had my way, you'd both be at the beck and call of the ministry doing what was best for the government instead causing chaos and panic wherever you go, creating more work for us to clean up!"

Harry stared at Umbridge incredulously. That's why she hated him, because she felt that the title Boy-Who-Lived made him nothing more than a tool or pet for the government to control and use as they saw fit?! She hated him for having a mind of his own and being a person and not a manipulated puppet?! Any hope the ministry or Umbridge had of having Harry help them out and/or like them went down the drain. How dare they think like that, how dare they try to take advantage of a twelve-year old for their own wants with no thought as to Harry's own interests.

Thankfully for Umbridge, they had reached the Gryffindor dormitory before Harry's anger got the best of him and he did something he would (not) have regretted. Without sparing Umbridge another glance, Harry entered the common room and headed to his dorm to get ready for bed.

* * *

"–and another twelve percent is given to the hospital. That money pays the med-nins (and pays for med-nin training), covers all the supplies needed and allows all Konoha shinobi free access to health care. Civilians have to pay for their own medical treatment of course. So, know that you know roughly how much money you can expect to be making once you are a shinobi, we can start figuring out a budget for you to follow next week."

It was Saturday, which meant that instead of doing odd jobs in and around the tower, Naruto was at his weekly lessons with the Third learning all he'd need to know to be a self-sufficient adult. Right now Sarutobi was teaching the blond about how the mission money that clients pay is broken down, and how the shinobi performing the mission only get 30 percent, or less if the mission is done by a team.

The general breakdown is like this; the largest percentage (40 percent) goes to management. This covers people who work in the Hokage office (like those who sort through the missions to deem how much it costs and assigns them to teams), it pays for the salary and supplies to those assigned on border patrols, the salary and supplies for those who work at the prison, Torture and Interrogation unit and the ANBU, and it even pays a stipend for Jounin instructors who take on a team (both for teaching and as compensation to the fact they can't take higher paying missions while a sensei). Basically anyone who works directly or indirectly for the Hokage gets their pay from here.

The second largest portion (30 percent) goes to the shinobi. This is what they take home from the mission to pay for their food, clothing, weapons and anything else they need or want.

The hospital gets 12 percent of a mission's cost. This pays for the supplies and general upkeep of the building, acts as a sort of health-care plan for the shinobi so they can get treatment whenever they need it for free, pays the med-nins for their work and pays for the training of new med-nins.

Seven percent goes to the families of deceased shinobi, to pay for their necessities and ensure the widows and orphans of the ninjas who had died for the village are taken care of.

Both the civilian school and the ninja academy (and those who work within them) are supplied and paid through 5 percent of each mission. This also allows anyone the opportunity to go to school for free, up to the age of eighteen.

Three percent goes to maintenance – things like replacing roof shingles and training posts. It allows for the upkeep of the training grounds, which by the end of a month would all be huge craters and dust without it.

Another 2 percent is saved for emergencies. Part of it is used to buy and store food, weapons and clothing (and is used for the general upkeep of the emergency shelters within the Hokage monument) but a lot of the money is saved so Konoha will be able to quickly get back on its feet after a war or disaster. (The Kyuubi incident – especially so soon after the war with Iwa – should have cost Konoha its place as one of the five great shinobi villages, or at least its place as the strongest of the shinobi villages. But thanks to the emergency money they had been able to hold on to their reputation. Unfortunately it had drained them dry and only the past three years had seen the emergency money being saved up again).

The last percent goes to the Hokage and his family, since he obviously can't take missions himself.

Naruto thought over what he had just heard in this week's lesson. According to Jiji-sama, once he was a genin a typical day would be to get up, meet with his team and train for a few hours, then do about 3 D-rank missions, then train a bit more before getting most of the evening off – time generally used to learn family techniques. Typical D-rank missions are both easy and not very time consuming so usually the cost for the client is about 6000 ryo. Of which Naruto would only get about 450 ryo of it once all was said and done. The average 1350 ryo per day salary was more than enough for a usual genin who still lived at home and treated their salary like pocket money or an allowance. But for Naruto, who would need to live on that money, it would be very hard. But thankfully for him (and others in a similar situation) he can take solo missions in his spare time as well, which would more than double his pay if he just did one additional D-rank mission a day, since he wouldn't have to split with his teammates.

While Naruto was busy trying to figure out how many missions he'd have to do in order to afford 5 bowls of Ichikaru's ramen per day on top of his other costs, Sarutobi looked over at the clock. "Well, we only have about fifteen minutes before I have an appointment with a jounin instructor. If you have no questions, then you may leave early and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wellll…." Naruto said. "I was kind of wondering about transformations."

Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe. "Transformations? What about them?"

"Well, my friend Kiba said that his clan has a jutsu where they and their dogs transform, into sort of a mix between themselves. I was just wondering if anyone can transform like that, and where you learn it and stuff."

The Sandaime inhaled some more smoke from his pipe as he stared at the usually energetic child in contemplation. Even though he knew Naruto was more intelligent than most thought, it was still hard to believe that the hyper ball of energy that couldn't even sit still for two minutes could think things through just as well as a quiet child who was always reading.

"Yes, the Juujin Bunshin. I'm familiar with that technique. However I'm afraid that only Inuzuka's are capable of that jutsu, thanks to the close bond they share with their canine familiars."

"But aren't there other transformation jutsus?" Naruto asked. "I mean real transformations, and not just illusions."

Sandaime smiled at what was looking to be an interesting conversation. He loved talking about techniques and their details – he wasn't known as The Professor for nothing.

"There are indeed other transformation jutsus, but like the Inuzuka's they're usually either clan techniques – such as the Akimichi's family techniques, including the Baika no Jutsu – or techniques that the individual created themselves – like the case of my student Tsunade, who can alter her appearance at will and almost constantly has her appearance set to about 25 years younger than her actual age. There are also a few clans that have some sort of transformation technique as their bloodline limit." The Third replied.

Naruto thought that over for a bit. Though having to make up his own way to transform instead of working off of an already perfected jutsu would delay his plans, it wasn't really surprising. Besides, he had the added benefit of knowing transfiguration from Harry (even if human transfiguration wasn't covered until sixth year, and almost nobody transfigures themselves). There was just one other thing to ask about.

"How about jutsus that transform you into inanimate objects?" Naruto asked. "I mean, wouldn't infiltration missions be easier if someone could change themselves into a hair pin or something and then get dropped off with the enemies none the wiser?"

The Sandaime just laughed. "As far as I know – and trust me, I know a lot of jutsus – there is no such technique in existence." The old man gave another little chuckle and took a small puff of his pipe. "But who knows; perhaps you'll be the first to invent a technique like that. If you ever do manage such a thing, be sure to let me know. But for now I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave – our time is up."

"Sure thing old man!" Naruto said, hopping off his seat. He waved goodbye as he left and headed towards his apartment, all the while thinking of the new jutsu he was in the midst of developing.

* * *

"– well Lockhart _is _the DADA professor, it only makes sense that he leads the duelling club." Pavarti said as she and the rest of the Gryffindor second years made their way as a giant group towards the Great Hall where the first meeting of the newly established Hogwarts duelling club was to be.

"Yeah, but he's a complete idiot." Seamus retorted. "He couldn't even deal with _pixies_. I'm not even sure he knows how to use his wand!"

The rest of the boys snickered at the sad-but-true fact while Hermione tried to play peacemaker between the boys who weren't hiding at all the derision they felt toward the blond professor and the other girls who admired the man and had a crush on him. "Well maybe Professor Flitwick will be in charge." The bookworm stated. "After all, he was supposedly a world class dueller before he was hired at Hogwarts."

Any further conversation was paused while they (and what seemed like the rest of the entire student population) pushed and shuffled their way into the Great Hall that was cleared of all tables. Harry wasn't surprised at how crowded it was – the whole point of the duelling club was to ease the fears of the students by giving them a bit more confidence in their defensive abilities and take their minds off of the attacks. By the looks of things it was working.

There were audible groans when people caught sight of Lockhart, Umbridge and Snape on the raised platform at the front of the room where the Head Table usually was. Harry considered leaving before it was time to start – of those three Snape was the only one he felt was actually capable of teaching how to duel properly, and Lockhart was the only one he'd trust not to hex him maliciously. All in all not a very good combination of adults as far as Harry was concerned.

But before the brunette could turn around to get back outside, the giant doors closed and Lockhart was calling for order. Harry sighed; he had a feeling that he'd end up regretting coming here.

"Welcome students, to the first meeting of the Duelling Club." Lockhart announced with a bright smile. Harry could swear he could see the man's teeth sparkle even from the distance across the Great Hall. "Here you will learn to defend yourself against dastardly foes and master the art of duelling. Of course, not everyone can become as proficient as I – refer to my published work – but it is my duty as your Defence Against the Dark Arts professor to help you reach your full potential, however limited that potential may be. Professor Snape has been so kind as to volunteer to be my assistant, and Ms. Umbridge is here to supervise the future generation and of course make sure everything goes smoothly." The man continued with a less enthusiastic voice when he mentioned Umbridge's presence. "Now the first thing we will work on will be the disarming charm. The incantation is '_Expelliarmus_' and the wand movement is as follows"

Lockhart then did a complicated and exaggerated swirl of his arm, finishing it off with a sharp and dramatic flick. In a real duel Harry didn't think he'd last long; by the time Lockhart finished his spell his opponent would have had enough time to disarm him three times.

"Perhaps a demonstration is in order. Severus; if you'd be so kind..."

Harry didn't know why Lockhart was still smiling as Snape left his place of sulking in the shadows and stood about 10 metres away from the other professor, face twisted into a predatory smirk.

"Now don't worry," the blond man spoke with another dazzling smile. "You'll still have your Potions Master when I'm through with him." Harry felt his stomach churn as some girls giggled and swooned. How could anybody find someone like that attractive?

Lockhart gave an elaborate bow, almost touching his knees with his forehead while Snape's bow was more of a quick jerk of his head. They each made a sharp about-turn and walked three steps away from each other. After a count of three, they spun around and before Lockhart could so much as blink he was thrown back with his wand sailing towards the other Professor.

"Yes, well done Professor Snape," Lockhart said as he dusted himself off and shakily made his way back to the center of the platform. "But I must confess that I allowed you to do that, so the students could see the full capabilities of the spell. If I had wanted to, I could have hexed you before you had time to raise your wand!"

"Of course." Snape agreed in a sarcastic and condescending manner.

"Now that you all know what to do," Lockhart said, addressing the students once more. "I want everybody to get into pairs and practice it. Remember, Disarming only! I don't want to see any other spells used!"

Harry and Neville paired up while Ron and Hermione became partners. Harry – who had already researched and mastered the spell last year – disarmed Neville on his first try and just started to coach Neville until the other boy could also perform it successfully. But while things were going well for his little group, the rest of the Great Hall was pure pandemonium. Judging from the various colours of the spells he could see, and the after-effects of the duels closest to him (Harry was very sure that the disarming charm would not result in swelling body parts or boils), nobody bothered to listen to Lockhart about just disarming and decided to duel each other full out.

"Stop! Stop! I said disarming only! Ms. Lynch, let go of Ms. Bloom's hair this instant!" Lockhart was desperately trying (and badly failing) to bring order to the Great Hall.

**Bang!**

Everyone stopped and looked to the source of the large noise and bright light. Multiple eyes found Professor Snape, in the same spot he'd been in the whole time, with his wand in the air.

"Now that you have all ceased to act like incompetent buffoons," the man said, his voice somehow managing to be heard throughout the Great Hall, despite the fact he made no effort to be loud, "We can continue."

"Aha," Lockhart said in the sudden silence. "Thank you Severus. Umm, perhaps it would be best to have a demonstration amongst the students first?"

Snape didn't say anything to either agree or disagree with the other teacher, so taking that as permission Lockhart started scanning the student body for "volunteers".

Harry ducked behind some older girls who perked up as Lockhart's eyes searched the crowd. If this was anything like the "demonstrations" – which were just re-enacting parts from Lockhart's books – in class, there was only one person the blond professor was searching for.

And as Harry looked up the moment that two of the girls he was hiding behind started a shoving match in their effort to be noticed by the handsome professor and caught sight of the eager (Lockhart), predatory (Snape) and downright evil (Umbridge) looks of the professors as he came into their sights, Harry knew that no good would come from this.

* * *

"Now will you guys tell me what has got your knickers in such a twist?" Harry asked as he slumped onto a chair in the Gryffindor common room.

They had just gotten back – or more like Harry had been dragged from – the duelling club by Hermione, Ron and Neville. The messy-haired brunette didn't see what the big deal was; Harry thought that he was the last person they should be angry at. Malfoy, yes; for casting at the count of one instead of three during their demonstration duel, and for using a spell that was decidedly _not _the disarming charm. Not that it stopped Harry from disarming the smug bastard (though the petty boy did manage to conjure a snake before being disarmed). Snape, yes; he obviously told Malfoy which curse to use and encouraged the whole event to happen. Lockhart, yes; for having no control of the club he was running, and then making it worse when he tried to get rid of the snake. Harry, no; not only did he stop have to go through the stupid duel, he was the one that stopped the enraged snake from attacking Justin Flinch-Fetchley after Lockhart had flung the snake in the air in the effort to get rid of it.

"What's got our knickers in a twist?! You should know what's got our knickers in a twist! Why didn't you tell us that you're a parseltongue?" Ron all but screamed.

"A what?" Harry asked, very confused.

"A parseltongue, Harry." Hermione replied. "Someone with the ability to speak to snakes."

"Well, that'd be everyone then wouldn't it." Harry stated. "It's quite easy; you just open your mouth and –"

"I don't think you understand." Neville interjected. "You were speaking to the snake _in the snake's language_."

"What do you mean "in the snake's language"?" Harry asked. "I was speaking English when I told it to back off."

"Oh, is that what you told it?" Ron asked caustically. "All everyone else heard was a bunch of hissing and spitting. For all we knew you were egging it on."

"Egging it on?! Why would anyone think I was egging it on? Especially since _it stopped attacking after I spoke!_" Harry demanded.

"Historically speaking, parseltongue is a dark ability." Hermione replied. "Salazar Slytherin was a parseltongue – hence why the Slytherin's symbol is a snake. And many dark wizard's after him are reputed to have had the same ability; even You-Know-Who."

"So what?" Harry asked.

"So what?! _So what?!_" Ron repeated. "So now everybody's going to think you're a dark wizard. That you're the one responsible for the attacks; that you're the Heir of Slytherin!"

"Well, I don't see how talking to snakes is such a "dark ability", or how being a parseltongue suddenly makes me a dark wizard. After all, I did use that supposedly evil gift to _save _a classmate from an angry snake. Saying that all parseltongues are dark is like saying that all Slytherins are evil, all Gryffindors are good, all wizards are great and all muggles deserve to die. You just can't generalize people like that. Parseltongue is just a gift; it's how you use it that counts."

"Besides, for all we know I might be the Heir of Slytherin." Harry calmly stated. "I don't know about you, but I have no idea the names of my _grandparents_, let alone whether my great-great-great-great-how-many-greats-grandfather was or wasn't Salazar Slytherin. Does it really matter?"

"Wha-? Of course-! I mean-! Blimey-! Harry-! Slimy-! Snakes!" Ron couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence after that declaration, but judging from his spluttering, it did indeed matter who you were related to (especially if it concerned Slytherins) and no matter how you use it parseltongue is evil.

"C'mon Ron," Neville said. "You should know by now that it doesn't matter who you're related to – after all, if Harry is related to Slytherin than so are we."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"The Pureblood movement has been going on for centuries, even though it has only come to war within the past 50 years." Neville replied. "And since there are only so many pureblooded families for other purebloods to marry into, by now we're all related. Ron is my sixth cousin, and Harry is my third cousin once removed, or something like that."

"I didn't know that..." Hermione said. "So you guys are related to all the purebloods? Even Malfoy?"

"Even Malfoy." Neville replied. "But they're distant relations for the most part, and there are a few circles of purebloods that still aren't related to each other yet."

Before Hermione could drill Neville more about pureblood families, Ron became collected enough to speak. "Look; I'm not saying that Harry's the one behind the attacks or anything, or even that he's a dark wizard. But everyone's going to think he is." Ron stated. "So it's probably for the best if he stops speaking parseltongue and not advertise that he might or might not be Slytherin's Heir. And I'm – I'm going to head to bed. Goodnight."

And like that the conversation was over. The three remaining friends grabbed their backpacks to occupy themselves as the rest of the student body returned from the duelling club – all of which left a wide berth around Harry while shooting him furtive looks and gossiping with their friends. Harry just ignored them and hoped that this behaviour wouldn't last too long.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I'm going to explain a bit more Naruto's money situation, but first just so you can understand the cost of things, a bowl of ramen at Ichikaru's would cost about 200 hundred ryo, rent for Kakashi's apartment would be about 60,000 ryo per month and Asuma's bounty was 35,000,000 ryo.

So right now Naruto's living off of the orphans fund and gets about 25,000 a month, which would be a bit less than half the cost for a normal person to live in a cheap bachelor apartment, buy enough food to eat (as long as you stick to the sale items) and never buy anything else. However, since Naruto already has his apartment paid off through the money left to him in Ichiro's and Yui's will (remember them – they were Konohamaru's parents who Naruto had lived with for almost a year before they died), and he gets a few thousand extra ryo per month due to his part-time job at the Hokage tower (around 10,000 ryo per month), he currently lives pretty well (as in he gets by with the necessities, but is in no way rich) despite the fact that many stores overcharge him if they sell him anything at all. This is because he wears donated clothes, he owns pretty much nothing (anything he does own were gifts) and he still gets treated to food by Iruka and the Hokage quite often. But once he's a genin he will no longer get any money from the orphans' fund (even though others, like Rock Lee, still get about 5,000 per month for their first year or two of being a ninja, until they learn to budget and have enough skills to do higher paying missions) and will have to rely solely on his pay from missions.

Once he's a ninja, his cost of living per month would be around 80,000 ryo; 3,500 ryo for utilities (I assume that Konoha is always around 20°C – or 68°F – so he wouldn't spend money on heat or air conditioning), 40,000 ryo for food (since he is pretty much a bottomless pit), 30,000 ryo for ninja equipment (the only thing he hadn't already had in his cost of living already since he'd just borrow the academy's equipment, but now he needs weapons and supplies of his own) and an additional 6,500 ryo for miscellaneous.

Average costs of missions are like this: D-rank is on average 6,000 ryo, unless it's something very time consuming or requires more people (for example, hiring ninja to pick a rice field would cost more than hiring them to do your grocery shopping). Assuming that the following missions would take about the same amount of time and be in the same location as a general D-rank mission, just with added danger, the prices would go like this: C-rank missions would generally be 15,000 ryo; B-rank missions would be 50,000 ryo; A-rank missions would be 100,000 ryo and S-rank missions would be 250,000 (for which reason S-rank missions are almost never be requested by anyone other than the Hokage since they're so expensive and dangerous).

Obviously the prices given (especially for the higher ranked missions) would be highly susceptible to change depending on the location and the time-span of the mission. For example, Tazuna would have paid 750,000 ryo for his C-rank mission of having a team of genin protect him and his supplies for a month from bandits and common thieves while he builds his bridge; and had Konoha known the whole situation (like Gato and Zabuza), Tazuna would have had to have paid 5,000,000 ryo.

So If Naruto does an average of four D-rank missions a day with his team, he would have to do an additional 15 solo D-rank missions every month to make 80,000 ryo per month. If he does an average of three D-rank missions a day with his team, he'd have to do an additional 22 solo D-rank missions every month to make 80,000 ryo per month. If he does an average of two D-rank missions a day with his team, he would have to do one additional solo D-rank missions every day to make 80,000 ryo per month. If he does an average of one mission a day with his team, he'd have to do an additional 37 solo D-rank missions every month to make 80,000 ryo per month.

**Q&A**

**Is the basilisk related to Manda? Or is it the boss summon of snakes and serpents in the HP world? Will Harry sign a contract with it?**

I'm surprised how many questions/requests I got for that. While it makes for a great idea (someone should seriously write a story like that), it's a no to all of the above. Sorry to disappoint.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Luna's harder to write than I'd thought she'd be. Which is too bad since I really like her character, but I just can't portray it properly. Sigh.

* * *

"Mommy's life work was trying to prove and make contact with other dimensions." Luna explained as she lazily swung her legs back and forth from on top of the dusty desk in the unused classroom. It hadn't taken Harry long to track down the mysterious girl who had somehow found out about Naruto's existence, but unfortunately they had only had time for quick and fleeting conversations before now; conversations where Harry had done most of the explaining and got little to no answers in return. But now they were currently far out of the way from where any students or teachers usually go, and since it was the weekend they didn't have to hurry to make it to class on time or anything. This time Harry was adamant about getting answers. "Eventually it killed her – one of her rituals went wrong when I was seven. It wasn't pretty."

Harry didn't know how anyone could talk about their mother's sudden and traumatizing death like that, in such a nonchalant way, but then again Harry was hardly a good judge on what was normal.

"But if your mother was the one to try and link worlds together, and she's dead, how do _you_ know about the connection between Naruto and me?" Harry asked.

Luna just gave the boy a small smile. "Mommy was the only unspeakable with a family who was allowed to 'bring her work home'. She did a lot of her experiments at home with daddy's help of magical sight. Because of that, I had been exposed to most of it. I was even involved in many of the experiments. According to mommy and daddy, it had been when mommy was pregnant with me that she had her first success, even though she couldn't find where the link was."

Harry's emotions were going haywire – he didn't know whether to laugh, cry or what. All he knew was that for the first time he had proof that Naruto and the shinobi world was _real._ And if that confirmation was from a spacey 11 year-old girl who everyone referred to as 'Loony Luna'; well, so what? It was still the confirmation from someone tangible that Naruto existed.

"So, do you have dreams like me and Naruto? Who are you linked with? Is it possible to cross into the other's world?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Hmmm, I sometimes had dreams like that, but never as strongly. I have been linked with many things before. It could be possible to cross world's, but I have never heard of it being done yet." Luna answered calmly.

Harry tried to think back to his long list of questions to make sense of Luna's response. "What do you mean you were linked to many things? How could you have more than one connection, and what do you mean by _were_ linked."

"As I had already said, I had helped with and been a part of most of mommy's experiments. Because of that I had formed many connections over the years – once with a boy who practiced this weird religion called 'the force' – that one lasted for almost two years; once with an older lady who was quite boring – that connection only lasted a few days; and the longest connection I've ever had was a six years long, and that was with a giant tree – I don't know what the species was called, but I don't think we have it here." Luna said.

"Can you explain a bit more about the connections?" Harry asked.

"The alternate realities aren't supposed to be crossed and connected like we've experienced." Luna spoke. "That's why they never last forever, no matter how strong the magic which originally links them. From my own experiences and my mother's notes this is what I've figured out: magical rituals can link two worlds together, but even then it has to involve very strong magic and it doesn't always work. And even if a bridge between two realities is formed, it is too hard to maintain unless it's tied to something from both worlds – and for whatever reason it must be tied to something with a life force. The strength and duration of the connection depends on two things – the strength of the original magic which tied them together and the bond (and individual magic) between those which are linked."

"Why would it depend on the bond between the linked people?" Harry asked.

"Although it was outside magic that formed the initial link, the participants unconsciously use their own magic to help maintain it." Luna replied. "Take my past bonds for example – when I was connected to the older woman neither of us were happy; she thought that I was some sort of evil being there to tempt and torture her with my unusual powers (apparently magic isn't looked on upon favorably in her world) and I thought she was bitter and boring. Since neither of us wanted to be connected, our magic subconsciously acted out – not only did our magic not feed the bond, it sabotaged it."

"So the bond between Naruto and I will last as long as we like each other? I mean, my connection with Naruto has lasted for as long as I can remember – you don't think it will end do you?" Harry asked, his heart beat becoming unbearably loud in his ears and his hands sweating at the possibility of going to sleep one night just to find Naruto and the dream scape gone.

"Unfortunately yes – as I said the worlds aren't meant to be linked like this, so even if your magic is helping to prolong the inevitable, your bond will eventually end." Luna said, sounding as calm and spacey as ever despite the crushing blow to Harry's emotions she had just delivered. "My bond between the tree died like that; as time passed it had started to grow weaker and weaker until finally the connection had snapped altogether. But I think your connection will end before it has the chance to waste away like that."

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked, distraught that the bond will be over sooner rather than later.

"As I had already said, the duration of the bond is also dependent on the magic of the linked individuals. So if either you or Naruto suddenly need to have access to all your magic, it will stop feeding the bond. That's how my link with the teenage boy ended. I've also had several bonds that had only lasted for a few minutes, since soon after it had been established the ritual would unleash a large magical backlash which my magic would unconsciously protect me from and then deprive the bond, killing it before it could become stable."

Harry thought back to the end of the previous school year and the weird lurch he had felt after using that powerful patronus spell. Harry's eyes widened in shock – what with him being the Boy-Who-Lived, and Naruto being a ninja, chances were the bond wouldn't even last another year. And it might not necessarily be because they ran out of magic/chakra – there's a good chance that they'll die.

"But then again," Luna said, interrupting Harry from his depressing thoughts, "your bond is rather unique. I think that when the bridge between our worlds is broken, it won't end in the usual way."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

Luna looked at Harry contemplatively; it felt like she was looking at his soul. "It sounds as though you and Naruto care a great deal about each other." She said matter-of-factly.

"Of course – we've known each other for as long as we can remember, we're like brothers. If it weren't for Naruto I would have gone mad growing up." Harry replied honestly.

"If you could choose, would you rather stay at Hogwarts and the magical world and live like you do now, except without the bond; or would you rather forfeit your magic and live in the muggle world with no contact with anybody magical, if it meant you could still keep the bond with Naruto." Luna asked.

Harry stopped himself from replying automatically – his magic was a very large price to pay. It was an important part of his being, and asking him to forfeit his magic was like asking him to gouge out his eyes and cut off an arm. And it would be painful not to be able to talk to Neville, Ron, or Hermione again - he had come to care about them a great deal. But Harry remembered all those times when he had been younger, before he and the Dursleys had developed their sort-of-truce, how it wouldn't be unusual for him to be locked within the cupboard for impossibly long periods of time with no food or water, and it felt like Naruto was the only thing that kept him going, that kept him from going insane from the hungry, dark and lonely hate-filled existence. And more importantly, how Harry knew that he had been (and to a lesser degree still is) just as important for Naruto. It didn't take much more careful deliberation before Harry knew that his first impulse was the right one, and the choice he'd make. "Naruto. I'd choose Naruto."

Luna gave a small understanding smile. "That's what I thought – your bond with Naruto is stronger than your bonds to your own worlds."

"So...what does that mean exactly?" Harry asked.

"It means," Luna replied. "that when the bond can't take the strain of bridging the two worlds together anymore, it's possible that instead of it just dissolving, one of you might be pulled into the world of the other."

* * *

"Come on you stupid bird! Listen to me!" Naruto yelled, trying unsuccessfully to communicate with an sparrow.

After learning about Harry's supposed dark ability of speaking another language unknowingly, Naruto had obviously wanted to try it too. But no matter how many snakes the dream scape brought into being, Naruto couldn't understand a single one of them. But that didn't stop Naruto's enthusiasm; the blond was steadily making his way through the animal kingdom trying to find something he could communicate with.

Meanwhile, Harry was going over information on basilisks for the hundredth time. Ever since Mrs. Norris had been attacked there had been a frenzy around the school for those looking for more information about the Chamber of Secrets and what the monstrous beast was; the waiting list for the library copy of _Hogwart's: A History _was several months. Harry himself was curious as well – it didn't mean he had any plans to go into the Chamber or anything; he just wanted to know what he was up against since Dobby seemed positive that Harry was a main target.

It didn't take a large leap in logic to determine that the beast had to be some sort of snake – Slytherin was a parseltongue himself, so what better creature to use? Not to mention the creepy voice in the walls that only Harry (the only known parseltongue in the school) could hear. From there he just had to look for a snake that could somehow petrify it's victims without leaving a sign (such as fang marks). The only creature that fit the bill was the basilisk – it can kill with its stare, and Harry figured no one died yet since no one looked _directly_ into its eyes; Mrs. Norris saw the snake's reflection in the puddle and Colin saw the snake through his camera lens. And basilisks were supposedly very long-lived, which meant that it might actually be the same snake that Slytherin had hidden away, and not a descendant, which would ensure its loyalty and dedication to Slytherin's cause.

Although there wasn't much information on basilisks, it did say that a roosters crow was fatal to it. Harry wondered if there were any limits to that; did the crow have to reach a certain pitch, or be a certain volume to kill? If there were such limitations, they might have to find the Chamber itself in order to kill the snake.

His musings were interrupted by Naruto, who got bored with his pet project and decided to put it on hold for the moment. "Ano, Luna said that one of us is probably going to be pulled into the other's world right? Did she say anything about anyone else being pulled with us? Like if we happened to be hugging someone at the time or something? Can we bring stuff with us, or would we just show up naked?"

"I have no idea; not even Luna knows. To our knowledge no one has ever crossed over before so whether it's just ourselves who go, or we take half the continent with us is anybody's guess. I think we should start carrying around our most prized possessions everywhere around with us just in case." Harry replied.

"Hmm." Naruto agreed, trying to think of what items he wanted to bring. But even thoughts of traveling across worlds weren't enough to capture Naruto's full attention for too long. "Hey, Harry? Is everyone still being stupid about the whole parseltongue thing?"

Harry groaned. "If anything, they're getting worse by the day. Today on my way to Charms, I was passing a seventh year Ravenclaw who was almost twice as tall and three times as wide as me who had skirted around me in fear when I came into sight, and literally squished himself against the wall and held his breath when I passed."

Naruto laughed until he fell down, a few tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Well, I'm glad _you_ find it funny," Harry said dryly. "I can't even sneeze without someone accusing me of plotting their demise."

Naruto pulled himself together enough to reply. "You _should_ find it funny," Naruto said. "It's freaking hilarious! Come on Harry; imagine what you can do to freak people out – just think of all the fun you could have with this!" Naruto's mouth started to water at the thought of telling people that unless they wanted to be attacked by a vicious beast, they had to treat him to an unlimited supply of ramen.

"That's all right; I think you, Fred and George are having enough fun from it for everybody." Harry replied.

And it was true; the Weasley twins were squeezing every last drop of amusement that they could get from the situation. They made sure to escort Harry to and from every class (despite how far away it was from their own classes), and made loud proclamations about Harry's supposed Dark Lord status and how evil and dastardly the small second year was. They had declared themselves minions in Harry's Dark Evil Order of Chaos, Destruction and Mayhem. They had even put up recruitment posters so that more people could join in Harry's dark reign. The sad thing was that many people had joined, thinking that it would save them from being Harry's next target for being petrified.

Harry listened in with half an ear as Naruto thought up more ways for Harry to take advantage of his Dark Lord status, and what fun he could have with it. While some of those ideas would be pretty funny to act out, Harry didn't want to risk people getting so scared that they thought it was better to try and take him out than to live in fear.

* * *

"Shut up Ino-pig! You're just jealous that I'm going to have all of Sasuke-kun's love and attention once he sees me in this cute new outfit!" Sakura, a pink-haired classmate of Naruto's (who he currently had a crush on) yelled at her best friend/rival for Sasuke's affections, Ino.

"As if I'd be jealous of that monstrosity!" Ino shrieked back. "Red is _so _last year. Besides, any idiot can see it totally clashes with your pink hair, Forehead-girl!"

Naruto paused from where he was going to jump out and greet his classmates (and maybe ask his pink-haired crush for a date). His survival instincts were screaming at him to stay away and greet them when they were calmed down, and preferably away from each other.

It was the weekend, and Iruka-sensei had strongly suggested that he and his classmates find an outfit that they can use for when they become genin in a few short months. It has to be durable enough for combat, loose enough to allow freedom of movement (but tight enough that they won't get tangled in it) and preferably have hidden pockets to conceal back-up weapons and tools. The teacher had said it was best to buy their outfit now, so that they had a few months to test it out in the academy during supervised spars and drills and by the time they got a team of their own, they already had the right one picked out.

Naruto had come shopping, even though he knew that he wouldn't be able to afford most of the equipment. Maybe he could convince Jiji for a loan until he got enough money from missions to pay him back...

But then Naruto spotted the clearance section. Figuring it wouldn't hurt to look, he went over to check it out (being careful not to alert his female classmates of his presence). There wasn't much – and only one outfit that would actually fit him. It was...bright. And it looked too thick and warm for Konoha's mild climate. But, it was in his price range. And if he removed the stuffing, he could make the insides of the jumpsuit into countless hidden pockets, while making the clothing cool enough to wear while training. And though bright colours aren't a good idea for ninjas, as a genin it wouldn't really matter since he wouldn't be doing missions which depend on stealth. By the time he did do higher ranked missions, he would have enough money to afford a new outfit and this jumpsuit might not even fit anyway.

With a decisive nod, Naruto grabbed the outfit and made his way to the register. It looked like Sakura had already bought her outfit and left. While he was sad that he hadn't used his opportunity to say hi to his crush, he appeased himself with thoughts of his new outfit – there was _no way_ she wouldn't notice him now!

* * *

"This is just what I need..." Harry muttered sarcastically as McGonagall left him alone in Dumbledore's office.

Not even ten minutes ago Harry had literally stumbled over the inert form of Justin Flinch-Fletchey and the black-misted frozen Nearly-Headless Nick. Harry assumed that it was the ghost version of dying by basilisk stare or something. That in itself wouldn't have been too bad, except that not even a full minute later what seemed like half of the school had stumbled onto the scene and now everybody thought that he was for sure behind the attacks.

Harry couldn't say that their suspicions were completely unfounded – he had been found alone at the scene of two attacks, everyone knew he had been in the infirmary (and therefore out of Gryffindor Tower) the night of Colin's attack and he was a parselmouth. But even if there was that 'evidence' against him, didn't people stop to think about motif? What reason could he possibly have to attack muggleborns – especially considering one of his best friends and his mother who had died trying to protect him were ones.

And now due to the school's panic and paranoia around him, McGonagall had taken him to the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore himself wasn't here yet, so Harry started looking around to waste time and keep his mind off of the impeding meeting. There was a multitude of little devices, most of them in motion whirling, or periodically puffing out small colourful clouds of smoke, all of which Harry had no clue as to their purpose. The walls were covered in portraits of, from what Harry could tell of reading off the labels of the portraits closest to him, were previous Headmasters all pretending to be asleep. There might be a few genuinely asleep portraits, but Harry had seen too many with eyes mostly closed, who had their positions too stiff or who he had seen move from the corner of his eye not to believe that the vast majority were just faking. But what most intrigued Harry was the sickly looking bird on a majestic stand.

"Hello there," Harry spoke softly to it as he petted its head gently. The bird crooned at him as its eyes closed in bliss. Harry continued petting the bird until he was distracted by an increasingly loud commotion from outside the office. He had just reached the door to try and discern what the voices where saying when a flash of fire from within the office grabbed his attention.

"Ah!" Harry exclaimed, looking for a glass of water or _something_ to put out the flames which had suddenly consumed the sickly bird.

Unfortunately he found nothing to douse the flames with and soon all that was left on the stand was a large pile of ash. Just then the door to the office opened, admitting the Headmaster and Delores Umbridge.

"Just you wait until the Board of Governors hears about this Dumbledore – he ought to be put in Azkaban, and you won't so much as give him detention! Your favoritism won't be stood for!" The toad-like woman yelled.

"I'm not saying that the one behind the attacks does not deserve punishment," Dumbledore countered, sounding very cool and collected, if not more than a little stern, compared to the woman's ranting. "However, there is no proof that Mr. Potter is indeed the one responsible. And until I have proof he will not be punished for something he didn't do."

The Headmaster's tone booked no room for argument, and Umbridge unhappily stayed silent. Harry took that moment to get their attention.

"Uh, sir? Your bird..." Harry began, unsure how to make the older man understand that his bird spontaneously combusted.

"Ah!" Dumbledore said, sounding far more chipper than he had a second ago. "He finally had his burning day then? I've been telling him to get on with it for days now, but Fawkes had always been stubborn..."

Harry just looked at the senile man confusedly. He was happy that his bird went up in flames?

Seeing the looks he was getting, Dumbledore sought to explain. "Fawkes is a phoenix – an immortal bird of fire that burns when it dies, and then is reborn again from the ashes. Look."

Dumbledore sifted through the pile of ash, revealing the bald, wrinkly figure of a baby bird. "Phoenixes are truly wondrous creatures – extremely loyal, able to carry heavy loads as if it were nothing and can heal almost anything with their tears."

"I don't think now is the time for a lecture on birds, Dumbledore." Umbridge said scornfully. "We are here to discuss Potter's punishment."

"And whether he merits said punishment." Dumbledore reminded her sternly. The Headmaster turned his gaze back on Harry. "Can you tell us what had happened, Mr. Potter?"

Harry straightened up, unwilling to appear meek or guilty in front of the ministry liaison. "I had been heading to the Gryffindor common rooms from the library when I had come across Justin and Nearly-Headless Nick. Justin had been petrified and Nick had been frozen and dark. I had been wondering on who the closest teacher to inform was, when Peeves-"

"And what, pray tell, were you doing outside of class in the first place?" Umbridge interrupted.

"Herbology had been canceled since Professor Sprout had to re-pot the mandrakes." Harry replied.

"A very important endeavor since we'll need those mandrakes to revive our petrified victims." Dumbledore stated. "Anyway, it seems as if Mr. Potter had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time; I'm sure that there are witnesses in the library who can attest to Mr. Potter's presence there. And in any case, there is absolutely no proof that Mr. Potter is the culprit. So, if that is all, Ms. Umbridge?"

Umbridge just gave the Headmaster a furious glare. "This isn't over Dumbledore!" she spat. "The minister and the Board of Governors will hear about how you are covering things up here, and how Potter has been attacking students! You won't be able to protect him forever!"

The Headmaster stayed silent until the ministry woman left his office, slamming the door shut behind her. Harry and Dumbledore continued to stay silent for a long moment after she had left, until Harry decided to break the silence.

"It's a basilisk."

"Pardon?" the Headmaster asked.

"It's a basilisk – Slytherin's monster. Its stare can kill people, but no-one stared at it head on; except Nearly-Headless Nick, but he's a ghost so it's not like he could die _again_..." Harry elaborated.

"I know." Dumbledore said.

"- and Colin must have seen it through his camera lens, and – wait. What? You knew it was a basilisk?" Harry asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Dumbledore asked. "I have the same evidence as you, and therefore came to the same conclusion. It only makes sense that Slytherin utilizes a snake as his great beast, and considering the state of all the victims and how we found them, the only possible conclusion is that there is a basilisk somewhere within the school. The fact that Hagrid has reported the fact that all his roosters have been murdered seems to confirm it."

"Oh." Harry knew he shouldn't have been surprised that Dumbledore had figured it out, but he had assumed that there would have been an announcement or something. Or at least some plan of action against the basilisk once the staff knew what they were dealing with.

"So what are you going to do about it?" Harry asked.

"Right now, nothing." Dumbledore replied.

"Nothing?" Harry repeated incredulously. "There's a giant snake attacking students, you know how to kill it, and you aren't going to do anything?"

"You misunderstand me; I'm not going to do anything _right now_." Dumbledore said. "There isn't much I can do while the school is in session except to enforce the earlier curfew and remind students to always travel in groups – I don't want to start a mass panic after all. But once the Christmas holidays are here and the school is empty, we will search for the hidden chamber and blast rooster crows throughout the school. Hopefully that will be enough to kill the basilisk, but the early curfew and other safety precautions will still be in place next term just in case."

Harry sat back thoughtfully. He had wondered why everyone had to leave during the winter holidays, and now he had his answer. While for the vast majority of students this was no problem, there was a handful of students who had planned to stay at Hogwarts, so alternate accommodations had to be arranged. Thankfully for Harry the Weasley's had invited him over to spend the holidays with them.

"I don't know where the chamber is," Harry stated. "But I've been hearing a voice in the walls. Since no one else seems to hear it, I think it might be the basilisk."

Dumbledore leaned back thoughtfully. "The walls? I had wondered how a giant serpent like a basilisk could get around the school without being seen; so the chamber has to be somewhere that the snake has access to the school's plumbing. Thank you Harry, that information was most helpful. Perhaps once next term begins you can keep an ear out for the basilisk so I can know whether it was killed or not."

Harry nodded his agreement and stood up to leave. Though he was upset that there were two more victims and the majority of the school treated him as though he had the plague, he found himself in much better spirits as he made his way back to Gryffindor Tower; no one had died yet and there was only two more days until the teachers would start hunting for the chamber and try to kill the basilisk.

* * *

Harry watched as the flames from the Burrow's floo changed from the bright green to the regular orange as Mrs. Weasley left. It was December 26 and as per tradition Mrs. Weasley's cousins were hosting a family gathering for extended family (Christmas day itself was for immediate family). Mr. Weasley had decided to stay behind this year to keep Harry company and not force him to go to a family gathering which even the Weasley children found somewhat boring and awkward – though the official reason was so he could take Harry to muggle London and indulge in his obsession with someone who was familiar with muggle culture.

"Sit down Harry, we have the whole day ahead of us and it's best to eat as much as you can before we head out." Arthur advised.

Harry nodded his agreement and helped himself to some more bacon and pancakes. While eating he couldn't help but notice that Mr. Weasley was staring at him intently, and fidgeting quite a bit.

"Mr. Weasley? Is something wrong?"

Mr. Weasley jumped a bit, startled from his thoughts. He took a moment to think of what he was going to say before answering. "Harry, you know that me and my family care quite a bit about you right? No, don't say anything right now and let me explain. Ron had been anxious and insecure when he first got on the Hogwarts Express, and now he's more confident in himself and his place in the family. Fred and George see you as another little brother, to annoy and protect. And Molly and I think you're a fine young man who we are honored to welcome into our home as often as you'll come over. So you can understand my worry when my boys had told me about the condition they had found you in when they, er, retrieved you, during the summer."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, starting to feel a little anxious as to where this conversation was going.

"Fred and George had said that you had bars over your window, no less than 7 locks on the door and a cat-flap to give you food."

"So?" Harry had to practically force the word out as his throat suddenly felt tight and constricted.

"So? Harry, the way they treat you is wrong – it's child abuse. And it doesn't matter if you're the Boy-Who-Lived or an ordinary muggle, no child deserves to be abused."

Harry shifted guiltily. He didn't know why he was feeling this squirming and burning feeling in his gut which kept growing as the conversation continued. Why he felt the corners of his eyes prickling. He had always known that the way the Dursleys' had treated him was wrong, that he deserved better, but no matter how angry and indignant he got on Naruto's behalf towards Konoha's treatment of his little brother he had never really spent much time thinking or angsting over his own situation. It wasn't so bad – they had never hit him (besides a swat every now and then if he was taking too long or hadn't done a good job on his chores), and he never had to fend for himself on the streets the way Naruto had.

"Thank you for your concern Mr. Weasley, but I'm fine. I was only locked up because of the house-elf that ruined my uncle's business deal – it's not like it happens often. Don't worry about me; I know how to deal with my relatives." Harry coolly.

"But it's not fine!" Arthur countered. "You shouldn't have to "deal with it". And it doesn't matter if you aren't _often _locked up; you shouldn't be locked up at all. It's one thing to ground a child and limit privileges; it's another thing to forcibly lock up a child and limit their basic necessities like food and bathroom trips!" The balding red-head took a deep breath to regain his composure before he continued. "I hope you don't mind, but last summer I had gone to the muggle police to report on the suspected child abuse."

"What?!" Harry exclaimed, thoroughly shocked and more than a little angry. "It's not your place to report it! It should be my choice whether I want people to know or not!"

"It's the law to report on suspected child abuse, I was simply doing my duty." Mr. Weasley calmly responded. "Besides, even if you don't mind the way they treat you, would you really allow them the chance to abuse another child? What if they had another kid, one who ended up magical? How do you think they would be raised?"

Harry had nothing to say to that hypothetical situation; saying that they wouldn't have another child would just make him seem immature and stubborn. But Mr. Weasley's confession did bring another question to mind. "How do you know enough about the muggle legal system to know about its policies on child abuse and report it? I mean, you didn't even know what a rubber ducky was for."

Arthur gave a small chuckle. "While it's true that I don't know what many muggle inventions are for, nor how they work, I am very familiar with the muggle legal system – or at least their police system – since I frequently work with (and cover up the existence of magic from) police officers for my job at the Department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts."

Harry supposed that that explanation made sense. But there was one other thing he had to ask. "Why tell me about it? If you had gone to the authorities during the summer, and hadn't told me then, why tell me now?"

Mr. Weasley went over to a paper-filled desk tucked away in corner which served as his home-office. Once he found what he was looking for he returned to the table and handed Harry an official looking muggle letter. "It took quite a while for the mailman to find our house, but eventually this letter was delivered for you."

Harry opened the letter and scanned the contents – basically the muggle authorities were asking him to visit the police station and talk with a child youth worker about his experiences growing up, and provide a statement for the case.

"I had told the muggle police that you were a friend of my son's from private school, so you wouldn't be able to visit them until the holidays, and that any mail for you should be re-directed here to ensure you got it. From what I understand you are under no obligation to give testimony against your relatives, but it would help a lot. I just figured that if you were going to do it, today is the best day since the rest of the family will be out and therefore none the wiser. But the choice is up to you – we can still go straight to the stores and have our planned foray into muggle London."

Harry tried to organize his jumbled thoughts as he stared at the muggle letter. Did he want to officially state how he had grown up? By the sounds of it, the investigation against his relatives would occur regardless of his participation, but chances are that all charges would be dismissed without him. After all, what were the chances that his neighbours who had always believed the lies fed to them by the Dursleys (never mind all the evidence against it) would say anything nice about him, and how would anyone know to look in the cupboard under the stairs unless he told them that it had been his bedroom for the first half of his life?

"Okay," Harry murmured, but still loud enough for Mr. Weasley to hear. "I'll do it. Take me to the police station, I'll give a statement."

Mr. Weasley beamed at him, a proud gleam in his eye. "Very well then; grab your coat and shoes and we'll be off."

Harry thought over the consequences of the investigation as he pulled on his shoes. Would the Dursleys' be fined? Thrown in jail? Would he and Dudley be put in the foster care system – he doubted that the Weasleys would gain adoption rights since a child youth worker would take one look at the seemingly structurally unsound house and declare it unfit for living conditions. The idea of foster care pushed another idea into Harry's head – could he maybe get emancipated? Harry pulled on his coat with resolve and figured that he would ask about the process and apply for emancipation while at the police station. He doubted he could get it – 12 was pretty young – but there was no harm in trying.

* * *

**A/N:** I don't really know how an investigation into child abuse works, or how you file for emancipation, so basically I'm guessing. So if something is wrong, don't worry too much about it the process isn't really important, just the fact that the Dursleys are under investigation and that Harry is filing for emancipation.

I got some reviews with corrections/suggestions about the money issue. I haven't really had time to work on it yet, but once I have the prices and things revamped I'll post it again to see if it makes sense. For those who were worried I'd be offended or that they were being too nit-picky; keep them coming! You guys often point out things I haven't noticed or suggest something I would have never thought of. While I may not agree with all reviews, it doesn't mean I don't appreciate them.

Another thing I keep getting is that I'm using too much canon material. I apologize for that, and I'll try to reduce canon material, but there still will be a pretty-much-straight-from-canon scene every now and then.

**Outtake!**

((A/N: I've seen people do this in other fics, so I thought I'd try it. It won't happen every chapter, but it's a way to let loose some random scenes or ideas that pop into my head. These outtakes won't necessarily fit in with the storyline of Strength of Brothers.))

"Poor deluded brother-o'-mine," Fred said, shaking his head at the naivety that his twin was displaying. "_everyone_ knows that the right is stronger; like the _right _hand of the law; the _right_ hand man; _right_ of way-"

"I don't think that last one counts!" George stated. "Besides, those were all right _hands._ We, my dear brother, are talking about _legs_!"

Fred and George (prankster's extraordinaire), were arguing over their self-proclaimed titles as the Dark Lord Harry's (and they really must convince the black-haired boy to change his name – who would quake in fear in front of a Dark Lord named _Harry_?) right and left leg men.

"Fred, George?" Neville asked from where he had been eavesdropping on their conversation a few feet away. "Why are you guys the left and right leg men? I mean, isn't it supposed to be the right-hand man of the Dark Lord?"

"Excellent question," Fred said

"Indeed it was." George agreed.

"You see, someone's right-hand –"

"-and left-hand" George interrupted.

"Yes, and left-hand men," Fred continued "are the leader's second in command, people the leader can count on to retain order and keep everyone in line when the leader isn't there."

"Yeah..." Neville agreed. "So?"

"So?" George repeated. "So we are the minions of the Evil Dark Lord of _Chaos_, _Destruction_ and _Mayhem_! We won't keep things neat and organized as the hands of the Dark Lord ought to."

"No, we will act as the legs; vital components of the Dark Order which will increase the chaos and disorder as we trip and stumble over things!" Fred continued.

"And besides, a kick to where the sun don't shine via the legs is a far greater blow than some wussy slap the hands are only capable of." George added.

Neville just nodded his agreement before slowly and carefully walking backwards, scolding himself in his mind for expecting a viable answer to his question. But then again, to the twins their logic was flawless as to why they called themselves the legs and not the hands of the Dark Lord Harry.

With the interruption dealt with, Fred and George turned back to each other to finish their original debate of which was better – to be the right-leg man or the left-leg man of the Dark Lord.

"The right side is the dominate side," Fred argued. "More destruction will be dealt from a kick with the right leg than the left leg could ever give out."

"But because the left leg isn't the most used is what makes it the best for mayhem." George countered. "People would be less likely to expect a blow from the left leg, and more shake-ups result from the left. Besides – right is the side of order and goodness. Left if the only side to be for a Dark Order."

Meanwhile, a majority of the people in the common room were trying unobtrusively make their way to the sign-up sheet the twins had posted about joining Harry's Dark Order. Maybe if they joined they wouldn't end up like Colin Creevey, and besides if Fred and George (who everyone considered to be nice and funny, if not a little annoying from time to time) were the right and left han-, errr leg men than maybe the Dark Order wouldn't be too bad.

Fred and George continued their argument even as they watched their housemates sign-up from the corner of their eyes. They shared a knowing smile and resisted the urge to cackle evilly. Actually, they were part of the Evil Dark Order of Chaos, Destruction and Mayhem; they could cackle evilly whenever and wherever they wanted!

As the twins threw back their heads and laughed evilly for apparently no reason, more people (especially the younger years) jumped up and ran to the sign-up sheet. Those laughs were scary, and if you couldn't beat them, then join them.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: You know, I just added in the whole sign-up sheets for Harry's Dark Reign thing just for fun, but everyone seems to really like it, and after a ton of plot bunnies thanks to ReflectionsOfReality I'm kind of sad that I won't really use it much in this story. But those plot bunnies were too good to waste, so I'm going to do a one shot featuring what would have happened if Harry's Dark Order was established in canon. Hopefully it'll be up sometime before Christmas, but I make no promises.

One other thing – I don't know about you guys, but this new review system is driving me crazy. I must have favorited at least 7 stories I had just wanted to leave a review for. And I'm too lazy to go through my favorites list to remove them. I wonder if there is a limit to how many stories can be on your favorites list...

For those of you who forget, Harry is currently 12 and Naruto is 11.

This chapter is dedicated to my amazing beta Demonic-Dragon-Eyed-Chic! Happy belated birthday!!

P.S. I don't own anything.

* * *

"Hey, Naruto," Harry called out as he heard his brother approach, not bothering to take his eyes off of the scroll he was studying. They had already been in the dream scape for several hours, and soon they'd be waking up. Naruto had left, saying he wanted to show Harry something before then. "I wanted to ask about the dispelling a genjutsu. Are you supp-"

Harry's words died in his throat when he saw what his little brother was wearing.

"What the hell is that?!"

Naruto either didn't notice or just ignored the choked horror in his brother's voice. "Do you like it? It's my new ninja outfit!"

"Your new...ninja outfit?" Harry asked incredulously, taking in the neon orange snowsuit Naruto was sporting. It gave a whole new meaning to 'eyesore' – Harry's eyes were starting to sting after staring at the glaringly bright outfit for too long. "It's orange."

"What's wrong with orange?" Naruto asked with a pout. "Orange is an awesome colour – it kicks all the other colours' asses!" The blond finished with enthusiasm.

Harry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I thought that ninja's were supposed to be sneaky. You should be wearing dark greens, browns and greys – not 'oh-kill-me-now' _orange_. You look like an overgrown pylon."

"Well not every terrain has trees and dirt and stuff. Green won't help me blend in with snow or sand." Naruto replied.

"First of all; you live in the Village Hidden in the _Leaves_ – so green definitely works for all your immediate missions. Secondly, even if green doesn't blend in with everything, orange doesn't blend in with _anything_."

Naruto just harrumphed. "But that's what makes it awesome! It's just so bright and explosive!"

"Naruto; you're not wearing that on missions." Harry said with finality.

"I'd like to see you make me!" Naruto said, sticking out his tongue at his older brother.

With a thought Harry had a kunai in hand and set out to ruin the abhorrent outfit. But even after he had reduced it to shreds, and then had set those shreds on fire, Naruto just had the dream scape provide another identical orange outfit and proceeded to put it on.

"Ha ha!" Naruto gloated. "You already know that nothing physical crosses over from the dream scape!"

"Then I just won't change it using physical means." Harry replied,and with a few hand seals the outfit was now a tasteful dark green instead of orange and with black replacing the blue patches of colour.

"Harry!" Naruto whined. But anything else he was going to say was interrupted as his physical self woke up thanks to a sunbeam glaring through his closed eyelids.

"Ugh..." Naruto groaned as he gradually got out of bed. It was rather surprising how groggy and out-of-it he was in the mornings considering that he'd be wide awake and alert in the dream scape moments before waking.

With a startled gasp Naruto ran over to his closet and peered in at the still-bright-orange outfit. The blond boy slumped in relief. Despite Iruka-sensei's advice of trying out his ninja gear before Naruto became a genin, Naruto had been waiting to use the jumpsuit since he hadn't wanted to tear it or wear it out on academy drills as opposed to real missions. But Naruto knew that once Harry was able to, he'd destroy the orange get-up in an instant.

'But it's _my_ outfit', Naruto thought with a frown. _He _was the one who bought it with their own money and everything, so _he_ should be the one who decides what to do with it! Naruto narrowed his eyes determinedly; screw saving the jumpsuit for later, he was going to start wearing it today! And he'd wear it all day, every day! Harry thought he could determine what Naruto wore – well he would just see about that!

* * *

Harry sank into the seat at the back corner table of the library in relief. He already had a great appreciation for libraries after the childhood he had had, but today he was even more grateful that such wondrous things existed. And it was obvious why he had such sentiments if you were to look just outside the library doors.

"If you so much as take one step inside, I'll hex you so bad that your great-grandchildren will feel it!" Madam Pince threatened to a pile of dwarves dressed as cherubs.

That's right; costumed-dwarves had been chasing Harry (and other students) around all day delivering Valentine's Day messages. It was a "brilliant" idea from Lockhart in order to brighten up the school and boost the morale. And Harry did admit that it worked for the more sappy girls of the school. And even though it made the rest of the Hogwarts population in even worse moods than they had been in before, it did take everybody's minds off of the Chamber of Secrets issue if for only one day. Somehow Harry doubted that the staff appreciated the effort – in fact, Harry would bet that Lockhart would be thoroughly hexed by supper due to their frustration. The dwarves had no qualms about interrupting a class to deliver a message to the recipient, since they weren't given any such stipulations about the appropriate times/places to deliver. And the costumed dwarves did anything and everything to complete their jobs; Lockhart had agreed to a pay raise if all the messages were successfully delivered. This was not only inconsiderate towards his fellow teachers, but downright dangerous depending on what the dwarves interrupted (like the middle of brewing a particularly reactive potion, or the middle of a human transfiguration spell). Thankfully by the first fifteen minutes of school all the professors had taken to warding their doors to prevent the dwarves access. But it meant that getting to and from classes (and still being on time) was next to impossible for students trying to wade through the even more crowded halls, and traffic was often put to a standstill as dwarves pinned down their unlucky targets to recite the message. Luckily for Harry, he had shinobi training and therefore had evaded each dwarf that had so much as looked at him – though now the Hogwarts population at large knew that he was _far_ more fast and agile than they would have guessed (though Harry made sure not to go too over-the-top in terms of his skill in front of others). So now with classes over and all other messages delivered Harry had taken refuge in the library and at least five dwarves were prowling outside the doors.

It was over an hour later that his peace was disturbed by an arrogant voice. "Hiding away like a pathetic Hufflepuff Potter? Too scared of the midgets covered in sparkles?"

Harry didn't bother taking his eyes off of the book he was reading, deeming it not worth his time or effort to respond to the other boy. But someone else decided to do it for him anyway.

"Why Malfoy, you jealous that the female population swoons for his dastardly good looks and debonair smile when they won't spare a glance at your pointy features and whiny voice?" Fred Weasley asked as he took a seat next to the bespectacled second-year.

"No!" The blond retorted with a slight blush. "I just find it pathetic that he's too afraid to hear a few crappy love confessions."

"Oh? And how would you know what those private and confidential messages say Malfoy? Unless you wrote one..." George said with a teasing lilt.

"Ooh! That explains why you were following our dear Harrikins around all day; you wanted to see his reaction to your love confession for yourself!" Fred elaborated.

"Eww! No!" Malfoy raged, his cheeks red with anger and embarrassment. He had just wanted to see Potter embarrassed and the crushed faces of his stupid fan-club once they realized Potter didn't return their sentiments.

"That must be why Harry is so adamant about avoiding those dwarves," George said with a knowing air. "He's scared of getting your love-confession and doesn't want to break your heart when you realize he's not interested."

"That's our little gentleman," Fred commented, voice choked with fake emotion and wiping away a fake tear from his eye. "Always so considerate of the feelings of others – even slimy unbearable gits."

"Shut up!" Malfoy yelled. "I'm going to make sure You both get detentions with Madam Umbridge from now till the end of the year!" Malfoy raged, indicating the shiny pin in the shape of an "I" on his cloak.

When the students had returned from the winter holidays, they were informed of Umbridge's raise in status from Ministry Liaison to Hogwart's High Inquisitioner – basically now she had higher authority over everyone but the Headmaster, when before she didn't even have the same power as the other professors. The official excuse was that the attacks could have been prevented if the ministry had had more power and influence on how Hogwarts was run.

It wasn't long before the "Inquisitional Squad" was formed – students who acted as tattle-tales for the ministry employee. It comprised of suck-ups and those who wanted more power; so nobody was surprised when Draco became one of its members.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Malfoy." George said, waving his hand dismissively. "Just because you can't take rejection very well doesn't mean you should take out your hurt on others."

Malfoy looked too angry to reply and just ended up storming out of the library, no doubt going to Umbridge to get the trio in trouble. Not that that was a hard thing to do – Umbridge seemed to have it in for them, especially when Fred and George tried to continue meetings for the Evil Dark Order of Chaos, Destruction and Mayhem after Umbridge's Educational Decree number 24: No student organizations, societies, teams, groups and clubs may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.

"Well, we just came by to say hello before checking out a few books," Fred said as he stood up. "So we'll be on our way, and maybe make a detour to the dungeons to "thank" Malfoy for the new detentions."

Before the twins got too far Harry thought of something. "Hey guys, McGonagall warded the Gryffindor common rooms against those dwarves, right?"

"Yeah, why? Need help avoiding your valentine's day greetings? 'Cause there's a whole bunch of those messengers waiting right outside the library and we wouldn't mind providing a distraction for you." George asked.

"Nah, you're in enough trouble already; I can deal with those dwarves on my own. But if you could bring back some food for me so I don't have to go to the Great Hall for supper, that'd be great." Harry replied.

"Consider it done." Fred said as the twins waved goodbye.

After another hour or so, Harry packed up his things and cautiously approached the library doors. Five dwarves were still there, looking sour at having been thwarted for so long. Harry quickly opened the door and ran past them before they realized that their target was in sight. They gave chase, but Harry knew from experience that they couldn't come close to matching his speed. But just then 3 more dwarves jumped out ahead and blocked him in. It looks like they had been planning while Harry had been in the library to make sure that they could finally deliver their messages. Harry spared a moment to wonder just what that promised bonus was if they delivered every message before looking around to see if there was anyone else around.

"Harry Potter;" one of the dwarves spoke eager to get this over and done with. "We have 11 valentine messag-"

The dwarf's eyes widened in shock as the Potter boy disappeared with a poof of smoke. Just what were they teaching at Hogwarts these days?

Harry meanwhile was several corridors away, swiftly making his way to Gryffindor tower. It was the first time he had used a technique from Naruto's world in front of witnesses, but some things couldn't be helped. And besides, it was more than worth it just to see their reactions and to get away from them yet again. Idly he wondered what Lockhart's reaction would be to the fact that the dwarves had been unable to deliver all their messages, evaded by his favorite student no less.

* * *

Harry entered the common room, broom resting over his shoulder. The only thing on his mind was the nice warm shower he was going to take so he could regain feeling in his numb limbs after flying outside at high speeds in the chilly March weather. But all thoughts of his awaiting shower died when he caught sight of a teary Hermione being comforted by his fellow year mates.

"What happened?"

Lavender looked up. "Pavarti and I came back from lunch to find our dorm ransacked – but it was only Hermione's things that were scattered everywhere and ruined. Our stuff was untouched."

"Someone was probably just looking to copy her homework or something." Seamus suggested.

"No," Pavarti countered. "We helped her clean everything up – she said that nothing was missing."

"Well you said her stuff was in pretty bad shape," Dean commented. "Maybe someone doesn't like her or is jealous of her or something."

Everyone just shrugged – who knew what the culprit's motivation was?

"Well we know it had to be a Gryffindor girl who did it." Neville supplied. "No one else would have gotten access to the dorm. Are there any Gryffindor girls you're having problems with Hermione?"

"No." Hermione replied, her voice a bit hoarse from crying but still pretty calm. "No one that I can think of. Listen; I want to thank you all for everything – especially you Pavarti and Lavender; it would have taken forever to clean up everything without your help. But I'm fine now. And I'm sure Professor McGonagall will figure out who was behind it eventually."

Seamus, Dean, Pavarti and Lavender just gave murmured responses and with one last clap on the back or squeeze of the shoulder, they left Hermione with Ron, Neville and Harry.

"So what aren't you telling us?" Harry asked.

"Well, when I said that nothing was missing, I lied." Hermione replied. "You remember that diary I found in Myrtle's bathroom? It's gone."

The boys startled at the news; they hadn't thought about the diary for almost two months.

Back in the first term, when the news that everybody had to leave the school for the holidays had first been announced, Harry and his friends had found themselves in a situation. The polyjuice potion that they had brewed to infiltrate the Slytherin common room wouldn't be ready until Christmas day. Since there was no way to speed up the brewing process, and they couldn't leave the potion for the staff to find as they went searching for the Chamber of Secrets, they had had no choice but to trash the plan and slowly dispose of any evidence bit by bit (Myrtle absolutely refused to allow them to flush the unfinished potion down any of her toilets and they could only carry so much out with them to use a in a different bathroom without being obvious). The day the train had been set to leave, Hermione decided to check one last time that all evidence of their rule-breaking was gone as the boys hurriedly packed. There she found the bathroom flooded by a sulking Myrtle, and the diary which had apparently been thrown at the ghost.

Upon returning to school, Hermione had told the others about her discovery. Ron and Neville, who had both grown up with horror stories of enchanted dark objects, had been horrified to hear that Hermione had tried to read the book without caution over the winter break. But she had declared that nothing bad had happened, and admitted that no matter what she had tried the diary had remained empty. Since then, the four friends had pushed all thoughts of the diary out of their mind; who cared about an empty diary? Though Harry couldn't help but wonder why someone would have tried to throw out the diary, or even why they had it in the first place since the only Tom Riddle (which was the name of the declared owner of the diary, found on the inside of the cover) they could find mention of had been a Slytherin student and Head Boy of Hogwarts over 50 years ago.

"Why take the diary?" Neville asked confused.

"I know!" Ron supplied. "Maybe it had been Riddle's daughter or granddaughter or something, who had found the diary in her house and she took it hoping to find out more about her family or something. But then once she realized it was empty, she tossed it. But then she felt guilty or something for tossing her granddad's diary and nicked it back."

"That's pretty elaborate," Harry commented, "but it's plausible. Though I don't know how they would have known that Hermione even had the diary in the first place."

"Well, even though I knew it was empty, I still tried every now and then to uncover something whenever I was bored." Hermione replied. "Someone must have noticed when I was playing around with it or something."

"Or they might have even asked Myrtle." Neville suggested. "If Ron's guess is right, then the first place the granddaughter, or whoever, would have looked would have been Myrtle's bathroom to see if the diary was still there. And Myrtle knew that Hermione had taken the diary, so it wouldn't have been hard to find out."

Hermione slumped back in the seat. "Well I'm just glad I hadn't used it yet. My own diary is already full, and I had been debating using that one if the one I ordered from Flourish and Blotts didn't arrive soon. I just didn't like the idea of writing in someone else's diary, even if they had never planned on using it."

The boys stared at their female friend in surprise.

"You have a diary?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Hermione replied defensively. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No, it's just that I wouldn't have thought that _you_'d have a diary." Ron replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the bushy-haired girl growled out.

Harry and Neville slowly started backing away, recognizing that this was a conversation they didn't want any part of.

"Well," Ron continued matter-of-factly, oblivious to the fact that he was just making things worse each time he opened his mouth. "Using a diary is a rather _girly_ thing to do, isn't it?"

"I _am_ a girl!"

Finally realizing that he shouldn't have said anything and should have let the conversation end long before now, Ron looked around for the other boys to provide back-up and help him backpedal. Instead he caught sight of Harry and Neville hurriedly making their way up to the boy's dorm.

"Traitors! How could you leave me with her like this?!"

The low growl and the scary glint in Hermione's eye made Ron wince in fear; maybe he shouldn't have said that last bit either.

* * *

With a quiet _poof_ Naruto returned to his original form, a grin of triumph overtaking his features.

"Yatta! I did it! My ultimate technique is finished!"

The blond cheerfully grabbed his frog-wallet and raced out the door; his success definitely deserved a celebration supper at Ichikaru's ramen stand!

The genin exam was swiftly approaching day by day. Naruto was determined to pass this time – not only would it be the third time trying to reach the rank of genin, but it was also the year his age group would pass. His taijutsu had improved by leaps and bounds thanks to his friend Lee, who had Konoha's leading taijutsu expert as a sensei. His ninjutsu was above average for the class, despite his below average chakra control, and thanks to Iruka-sensei's tutoring throughout the years his knowledge and strategic thinking wasn't half-bad. But he knew that to graduate he had to concentrate on his weakest area – genjutsu. Unfortunately, no matter how much time Naruto devoted into mastering even the simplest of illusions, he just wasn't any good. Iruka-sensei told him not to worry, that you can't be good at everything and his weakness just happened to be genjutsu.

But Naruto was never one to let a handicap bring him down, whether mentally or physically. So Naruto just started to look for a way around the traditional methods. And thus the boy decided that if couldn't make something _seem_ to be something else, then he'd just change it so that it _really was_ that something else. With a lot of help from all the information on transfiguration that he could get from his brother, Harry's knowledge on anatomy and Naruto's own stubborn determination, the blond was able to physically change with a few hand seals. He had only tried one other form thus far, but he was sure that it wouldn't take long to tweak it so he could choose any form he wanted. And hopefully he'd even manage to transfigure himself or somebody else into an inanimate object as well.

And now, of the three genjutsu techniques generally used in the genin exam, he has ways around two. The first was the shunshin no jutsu. It's a combination technique. First, it provides the limbs with a sudden surge of chakra, allowing the user to move at inhuman speeds. The second part uses an illusion to hide the movements of the user, usually using local elements like a swirl of leaves or sand. This makes it seem like the user just appeared/disappeared from nowhere. While Naruto could pull off the first part, he couldn't do the illusion part very well. Naruto solves that little dilemma with a subtly dropped smoke bomb; though elements from nature are the preferred illusions used, many also use a quick puff of smoke to hide their movements.

The second commonly tested genjutsu is the henge no jutsu, which basically forms an illusion surrounding the user to "change" their features. Thanks to his new technique, that was no longer a problem.

And as for the last genjutsu usually tested in the genin exams...well Naruto hoped that he didn't have to perform the bunshin no jutsu. It created additional images of the user to help confuse the enemy, or to create a distraction. Naruto hadn't figured out a way around that one yet.

As Naruto started in on his second bowl of ramen, his thoughts turned towards his new jutsu's unveiling. When he had first conceived the idea for his new jutsu, he had thought long and hard about what image to turn into first. Ultimately he decided on a form that would appear weaker than it was to be underestimated, but would still be strong and be able to defeat the toughest opponents. After some people-watching he had settled on a form and now that it was complete he couldn't wait to try it out on someone. But who?

Naruto mentally made a list of candidates. It had to be a male ninja, preferably of high rank. Hmmm...

The Old Man? Nah, Naruto dismissed him quickly; judging by the Third's private stash of _Icha Icha Paradise_ the old man would fall to his technique quite easily. He needed more of a challenge.

Ebisu? Naruto snorted – he'd succumb faster than the Old Man.

That scary scarred trench coat wearing dude who sometimes had private meetings with the Old Man? Naruto repressed a shudder. While that guy would be a good test as to the capabilities of his new technique, Naruto didn't know the man well enough to say that he'd survive the encounter if the scarred man took offense.

Iruka-sensei? Naruto felt his face break out into a smile – Iruka-sensei is certainly prim and proper enough to be a challenge, and yet innocent and prudish enough that the blond was ensured a great reaction no matter what. And if nice and upstanding Iruka-sensei succumbed to the jutsu, Naruto was sure it would work on the vast majority of ninja.

Naruto absentmindedly paid for his meal and headed back to his apartment while trying to figure out the best time to unveil his ultimate technique. He came to a decision, nodding his head resolutely – Monday. On Monday he'll unveil his ultimate jutsu to the world.

* * *

"- so the ministry in their infinite wisdom decided to arrest Hagrid. And if that wasn't bad enough, Hogwart's Board of Governors – lead by Lucius Malfoy unsurprisingly – voted to remove Dumbledore as the Headmaster until it is proven to their satisfaction that Dumbledore did everything in his power to prevent and stop these attacks from happening. So now Umbridge is the appointed Headmistress; though Dumbledore's office refuses to let her in. Serves the old hag right; you should have seen the temper tantrum she had when the gargoyle wouldn't move.

"Classes are the same as ever, but most students are too high-strung to pay attention so even petrified I don't think you'll be very far behind. I'm taking good notes for you anyway, so don't worry about missing out when you wake up. Besides, knowing you, it'll only take two weeks before you get ahead of everyone again."

Harry was currently in the hospital wing, alone except for the petrified forms of Slytherin's Heir's victims – including Penelope Clearwater (a sixth year Ravenclaw prefect) and Hermione, who had been attacked a week ago. It was this latest attack which had caused the somewhat calm and stable atmosphere that had been around the school as of late to disappear completely. Harry and the professors had hoped that the basilisk had died in Dumbledore's plan to blast rooster crows throughout the school; there had been no signs of Slytherin's Heir or the basilisk since then. Unfortunately, that was obviously not the case and now the ministry and Malfoy had decided to take advantage of the situation, resulting in Hagrid's arrest, Dumbledore's removal from the school and Umbridge as the current Headmistress. The only upside to the situation for Harry was seeing Lockhart's face as he was constantly called to Umbridge's office to "discuss about his classes".

This wasn't the first time Harry had come to see Hermione since her attack, but it was the first time he had come alone. Neville was currently in detention after melting another cauldron in potions (he really missed having Hermione as his partner in that class), and Ron had declined saying that he had to finish his homework. But Harry knew that the red-head didn't want to come mainly due to guilt – he felt that Hermione's condition was his fault.

The rule that no one should travel alone around the school was still being enforced even though the professors had been optimistic about the basilisk's demise after the winter holiday. So last week when Harry and Neville had wanted to leave to watch the quidditch game, they had left Ron (who had slept in) to go with Hermione (who had wanted to do homework until the last possible second). Ron, impatient to leave and anxious at the thought of missing part of the game, had let Hermione convince him of going without her since she had wanted to finish off the essay first. It had been during Hermione's unescorted trip to the quidditch pitch that she had met up with Penelope Clearwater and they had both been petrified. Though Ron hadn't said anything about it, Harry and Neville both knew that he felt that he was responsible for Hermione's current condition, and that Hermione might not have been attacked had he escorted her since he was a pureblood.

So for now it was just Harry and the statue-like students. But that was just what Harry wanted – he needed to unload. Usually whenever the black-haired boy needed to sort out his thoughts and/or feelings he would talk to Naruto. As oblivious as the blond boy could be sometimes, he had an uncanny perceptiveness for people and emotions. He just seemed to know what made someone tick. It gave Naruto a gift of being able to connect with people at a very intimate level; identifying with them and helping them. But this time Harry couldn't use his pseudo-little brother as a sounding board since Naruto was very much involved in his current predicament. So Harry came to visit Hermione; this way it felt like he was unloading his worries and seeking advice, but at the same time the black-haired boy was secure in the knowledge that Hermione (and the other petrified victims) couldn't hear or remember what he was saying.

"Naruto and I were talking about our connection again," Harry said, his voice becoming softer and more serious now that his monologue was on the topic he had really come here for. "He doesn't say anything, but I know he's hoping that we end up in his world as opposed to mine. He has his heart set on becoming the Hokage you see; he wants to prove to the villagers and the world at large that he isn't the waste of space that they seem to think he is, and that he's a great person worthy of respect and admiration. I have no doubt that he'll eventually succeed, but I don't know if it's worth it to fight so hard for people who don't deserve it. If they can't recognize what an amazing person he is, then it's their loss. If he came here, he wouldn't have to struggle so hard for recognition; there wouldn't be as much unfair prejudice against him. And he'd be less likely to get hurt or die; the life of a wizard is a lot safer than the life of a shinobi – especially if that wizard has had shinobi training.

"But I can see why he wants to stay there too. Despite the generally poor attitude towards him, he has a lot of people that he cares about and cares for him in return. And besides, if he had suddenly disappeared, people would think that he had finally given up and run away, or had committed suicide. And then it would be like those awful villagers had won, that they were proven right, and that's something neither I nor Naruto wants. And I know he wouldn't be as happy here as he would in his own world, even with their crappy attitudes towards him. Naruto would try and hide his melancholy and home-sickness from me, but I know it would be there. And that would only make me feel regretful and guilty."

Harry gave a large sigh and ran his hand through his hair. "I just want what's best for him! Konoha doesn't deserve him, but it would kill him a little bit inside if he could never go back; I know it would."

The infirmary went sill and silent as Harry became immersed in his thoughts.

"And, it's not like I want to leave either." Harry continued where he had left off, breaking the silence. "I mean, what about my precious people? I don't want to leave you, Ron, Neville, Luna or the twins any more than Naruto wants to leave Iruka, the Third, Konohamaru or his skipping buddies behind. And even though Naruto teaches me everything he knows about his world, there's a difference between learning from a fellow student and learning from an expert. I'll probably be behind in skills; especially since I can only sneak away to practice two hours each day. And what about Voldemort? He's not really dead and it's only a matter of time before he returns. I still don't how he was defeated the first time, or even why he had come after me in the first place."

Harry paused again before forcing himself to continue, trying to get his thoughts in order and out in the open. "But when I told Luna that I'd choose Naruto over you guys, I was serious. You guys are the best friends a guy could hope for, but Naruto is my brother. He's been with me through thick and thin. And he's needed me as much as I've needed him. I could never regret how important he is to me, or how important I am to him."

The image of what Naruto's sad and wistful face would look like should he be forced to stay in this world flashed before Harry's eyes. "Maybe if I had known you guys for as long as I knew Naruto; or maybe if we had more time so our friendships could have developed into something more, things would have been different." Harry mused, becoming calmer and more assured as his thoughts and emotions fell into place. "But I think I finally know who I'd prefer to end up in whose dimension."

Harry got up and stretched; he had been sitting there for quite some time.

"Thanks for listening Hermione; it was a great help."

* * *

"Excuse me for the interruption Umino-san," a non-descript chunnin said as he knocked in the middle of Iruka-sensei's review of the henge no jutsu. "But Uzumaki-san is causing trouble again."

Iruka held back the groan that wanted to escape, and with quick instructions for the class to practice while he was gone, the chunnin instructor left to find his wayward student.

Naruto's classmates were hardly surprised by the interruption; everyone knew that when Naruto wasn't in class he was creating trouble, and when he was in trouble (and therefore didn't want to be found) Iruka was the only one to somehow be able to find and catch the blond-haired boy.

"What do you think he did?" Kiba leaned forward to ask Chouji excitedly. The other day while Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji and Kiba were hanging out, they had been talking about the future and their upcoming genin exams. Kiba had been teasing Naruto about his chances for passing this time, since he had failed the previous two times he had tried to make the rank of genin. He continued to bug Naruto by saying that the blond probably would never even be remembered for anything, let alone become a great and legendary ninja and one of the Hokages. Naruto, very angry and upset about Kiba's comments (even though they were said in jest), decided to prove the other boy wrong and had declared that he would do something so great and daring that people would know his name for years to come.

Sure enough, not even half an hour later Iruka-sensei returned, dragging a bound and complaining Naruto over his shoulder. The teacher deposited the boy on the ground none-too-gently before he addressed the whole class.

"Since _certain_ people don't feel the need to sit in and listen to my review on the henge no jutsu, we will go straight to practicing it. Everyone form a line and when it is your turn you will all henge into the Sandaime. Chouji, you're first."

The class grumbled at Iruka-sensei's announcement, but obediently followed the instructions and one by one henged into the Third's image. For the most part it went well – some were too tall or too short, or the wrong amount of wrinkles, or the age spots weren't at the right places, but Iruka didn't expect these kids to know every detail of the Hokage. But when it came to Naruto's turn, what was an ordinary exercise became anything but.

"Sexy no jutsu!"

Suddenly there was a voluptuous and gorgeous naked woman in front of him. He wasn't quite sure what happened next – his brain had apparently short-circuited – but the next thing the chunnin knew he was on the ground sporting a bloody nose while Naruto (back to normal, thank goodness) was on the ground rolling with laughter.

"Naruto! What the hell was that?!" Iruka yelled, angry and humiliated.

"That's my ultimate technique against perverts! It'll be unstoppable!" Naruto crowed triumphantly.

Iruka fumed silently – he wasn't a pervert! He was just caught off guard, that's all. "Don't waste your time inventing useless techniques!" Iruka scolded, trying to ignore the embarrassment he felt from his student's technique.

Naruto took the chastisement in stride as he cockily made his way back to his seat. If Iruka fell under the power of his technique, then no male would be immune!

"Pssst. Naruto." Kiba hissed as he leaned over to the blond. "Kudos man; I know you said that you'd do something to be remembered by, and you definitely succeeded; I didn't think it was possible for Iruka-sensei to get so red!"

"Oh!" Naruto replied, surprised. "That wasn't what I did to be remembered by; I just wanted to test out my new technique. As for the other thing, don't worry; I have ensured my position as Konoha's number one prankster for years to come just this morning." The blond gave a smug smirk to his friend. "Look outside at the Hokage monument."

Kiba ignored Iruka-sensei's demand to return back to his seat as the canine loving boy went to find a clear view of the Hokage monument from the classroom window. His eyes widened in stunned disbelief as he took in the sight of Naruto's "contribution" to Konoha's greatest landmark.

"Holy shit!"

* * *

A/N: I'm sure I don't have to specify what Naruto's "contribution" was. Next chapter – the mega-ultra-über-super-duper chapter of canon action and adventure! (It's the end of Harry's second year and Naruto's genin exam – I'm sure you can all guess what's going to happen)

**Q&A**

**Frankly I think Harry had it worse than Naruto. Naruto at least had the Hokage and later Iruka on his side. Harry never had anyone. He was always alone, and starved most of the time until Naruto taught him how to defend himself. Still, Naruto can go to the Hokage and Iruka, and he knows even if the rest of the village hates him, those two don't. Harry doesn't have that all. He has absolutely no one he can go to. His relatives have made sure the all of Surrey treats him like the Leaf Village treats Naruto. Naruto didn't have bullies chasing him, he didn't have a family that out and out hated him. Naruto may have had most of the village hate him and treat him unfairly, but at least he didn't have family that out and hated him and told him he should have died with his parents. **

I'm not going to argue whether Naruto or Harry had it worse - they both had a tough time. But I wrote that in because those are Harry's true thoughts and feelings; which doesn't necessarily make it completely accurate or right, just like Harry's blasé dismissal of the Dursley's abuse towards him. So when Harry was thinking that Naruto had it worse, that is what he truly feels due to the fact that he's used to his own situation and that he cares deeply for Naruto. It's natural for someone to be angrier for a loved-one's behalf than the loved-one him/herself in such a situation. For example, right now Harry thinks Snape is a biased ass and a crappy teacher, but he doesn't raise a fuss over his treatment or anything – he knows it's unfair and is angry when the mistreatment happens, but other than that he doesn't waste time thinking on how mean Snape is, or how to get even with the man. Harry just continues on with his life. If the situation was reversed and Naruto had Snape as a teacher, Harry'd be pissed off and want retribution immediately. And he would carry a grudge against Snape for ages for treating his little brother so badly ((**hint hint**this will be an issue when Harry meets up with people who were at first mean to Naruto, even if they become friends with the blond later)).

So hopefully you guys understand Harry's mentality a bit more now, but feel free to ask if you've got more questions.

**Too bad Harry can't charm Naruto's clothing a different color...**

You know...I had never thought about that. It's definitely an idea with potential, so thank you berkie88!

Anyway, as for the actual colour; generally Naruto fics have two opposing views as to the jumpsuit: either Naruto loves orange and wears the jumpsuit all the time by choice, or he is forced to wear it (usually due to his financial situation and the discrimination of shopkeepers) and he despises the outfit and what it stands for. My way is a little bit of both; he doesn't mind the colour but is almost forced to wear it anyway because he doesn't have the money to be picky. I think Naruto is the type to like the colour orange and wear it by choice, but it wouldn't be his ideal for what to wear on missions and he wouldn't want to wear orange every single day.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N:I don't know where my beta is, so I decided to just post this anyway. Demonic-Dragon-Eyed-Chic, I miss you!

I've had one or two comments about Harry's hair colour – I was under the impression that brunet refers to both brown-haired and black-haired people. If it's not, then what's the term for black-haired?

Also, in this story there is no Hokage spying ball thingie. It served no purpose in the anime except as a way to switch scenes in the first episode when it could have been used for so much more. I mean, the Hokage knew where Naruto was and instead of getting some ninja to escort him back with the scroll, he just watched as a traitor to the village almost killed two of its citizens without doing anything. And I won't even mention how useful that would have been against Danzou or Orochimaru. So I figured that either I would add it but have it used sensibly, or just omit it entirely. I went for the second option.

Parseltongue is in_** bold italics.**_

* * *

Most people who know anything about Uzumaki Naruto would freeze in shock at the sight of the energetic blond sitting quietly in Konoha's public library, studiously pouring over books and scrolls to ensure his success in the upcoming genin exams. It was too bad then that no one came across the blonde's silent form, since Naruto would have certainly enjoyed their expressions. But perhaps it was for the best that there were no witness to the odd spectacle; since not only would they see Naruto studying, but they would also notice how a spare brush was filling a scroll with information seemingly on its own.

One of the most useful spells that Harry had ever taught Naruto had to be the copying charm. The spell allowed you to copy anything written or drawn, as long as you had a writing utensil and something for the copy to be placed on (such as an empty scroll or a blank piece of paper). Naruto, who was not allowed to borrow books from the library due to his less than stellar track record of bringing back library materials late and sometimes a bit torn or with some food spilt on it, had become dependent on the spell for learning new things since his only other option would be to study at the library and the blond could only stand to be quiet and behaved (as you must be in the library) for only so long. But with the spell (and use of a storage scrolls which the Sandaime had taught him how to make), Naruto could get as much information as he wanted to pursue at his leisure. Unfortunately Harry didn't have as much use for it since most books in his world were charmed against such spells which encourage plagiarism. The blond thought it was rather ironic that a spell, developed in Harry's world and eagerly learned by said brunet, was next to useless to him while it became so important to Naruto when he had only learnt it reluctantly.

Once the brush lay still, Naruto gathered his no longer blank scrolls and notebooks and stored them all in a storage scroll. He smiled and stretched as he got ready to leave the library – he had been in there for what seemed like forever! With a bright smile to the suspicious librarian Naruto left and headed to his apartment, ready to add to his ever increasing home library.

* * *

"All students are to go to their dormitories immediately. All classes and extra-curricular activities will be suspended for the time being. Food will be brought up to the common rooms. Thank you."

Harry and everyone else looked up in confusion as McGonagall's voice echoed throughout the school. It had been a fairly quiet and peaceful June day and Harry and the other second year Gryffindors had been spending their free period finishing an essay for Snape due the next day.

"I wonder what that was about." Pavarti said as they packed up their stuff to leave.

"Isn't it obvious?" Seamus replied. "There must have been another attack. I wonder who it was."

"Hopefully not another Gryffindor; we've had more casualties than all the other houses put together!" Dean exclaimed.

They continued speculating until they reached the common room, where the solemn atmosphere told them that it was indeed another Gryffindor who was the victim.

"Who was it?" Neville asked solemnly.

The crowd guiltily avoided their gazes, which confused the second years until a voice cut through the oppressive silence.

"Ron..." Percy beckoned his younger brother to him. The crowds moved so that the second years had a clear view of Fred and George holding each other and the red-rimmed eyes of all three boys.

"Ginny,...Ginny's been,..." Percy spoke again, unable to finish.

"What...?" Ron asked, unable to accept what his older brother implied. "No. No! Ginny's a pureblood! There's no reason for the Heir to go after her!"

"Ron..." Percy started again, somehow conveying support, understanding and chastisement. Ron shook his head and then ran up to the second year boy's dorm. His older brother's slowly followed after him. In the ensuing silence of the Weasleys' departure, Harry and Neville looked to each other, unsure of what to do.

* * *

Naruto stubbornly held back his tears as he jealously and bitterly regarded his classmates proudly displaying their headbands – marks of their adulthood and triumph as an official ninja of Konoha – to their loving and supportive families. _It wasn't fair!_ Why couldn't he have passed as well – he _knew _that he had to have done well on the written portion, prepared as he was by Iruka-sensei himself. He _knew_ that he was among the best (if not _the _best) at taijutsu thanks to his friend Lee and his green-clad sensei. He _knew _that he was fairly decent at ninjutsu – for despite his crappy chakra control, he had the largest amount of chakra _by far_. Really, the only part of the genin exam he had failed outright had been the genjutsu portion (stupid clone jutsu!). But apparently it still wasn't enough to earn the blond a coveted position into the respected ranks of Konoha's shinobi.

Naruto's inner musing was interrupted as he felt eyes on him.

"Yes, that's the demon brat." One woman whispered to the other. "I hear he's the only one who didn't pass."

"Thanks heavens; imagine letting a monster like him become a ninja! How shameful!" The other replied with a disgusted sneer.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore; he quickly left to a random rooftop, unwilling to go to his usual haunts in case Iruka-sensei or Jiji decided to come looking for him – right then Naruto wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

Wallowing in self-pity wasn't usually a pastime Naruto indulged in, despite his less than ideal childhood. But this time he just couldn't stop himself, no matter what he used to try and stay positive (e.g. thoughts of ramen, the knowledge that he could always try again next year, etc.). Sure, he had already failed the exam twice before, and therefore many would be confused as to why it struck as such a hard blow to fail this time. But Naruto had been _so sure_ that this time he would pass, this time he would get one step closer to his goals. After all, this was the year that his age group passed, so even if he had failed before it just meant that he wasn't a prodigy, not that he wasn't any good. But now, he would be seen as a failure even if he did manage to pass next year. He would have to endure the Old Man's silent disappointment, Iruka-sensei's pity, Har-

Naruto's breath left him as if someone gave him a solid punch in the gut. _Harry._ He would have to go to the dreamscape tonight and face his expectant brother with the news that he had failed _again_. How could he face Harry like this? Like a complete failure? How could his brother ever be proud of him now?

The blond was saved from his panic attack from one of his academy teachers, and the one who had judged the genjutsu portion of the exam, Mizuki-sensei.

"Naruto; I've been looking all over for you. You left quite suddenly after the exam was over." The man said kindly, settling himself next to the boy.

"Mizuki-sensei." Naruto greeted, not bothering to say or do anything else as he continued to wallow in self pity. The older man just sighed before he addressed Naruto once again.

"You know, failing the genin exam isn't the end of the world. You'll have a whole extra year to improve your skills and you'll be sure to pass next time, so buck up."

Naruto continued ignoring the other and his encouraging words.

"From what I understand, you are friends with a genin named Rock Lee; is that correct?" Mizuki asked.

Curious about the abrupt change in topic, Naruto looked up and slowly nodded.

"Then you are aware that he is unable to consciously mould his chakra and therefore is unable to use jutsus?" Mizuki continued.

"Yes..." Naruto replied.

"Well," Mizuki said, leaning over conspiratorially. "How do you think he was able to pass the genin exams without being able to do jutsu?"

Naruto was struck silent. Previously he had assumed that it was the all around mark that deemed if you passed or not, but considering how Naruto's all around mark should have guaranteed him a headband, Naruto admitted that he didn't know the details of the exam, and he said as much to Mizuki.

"Well you see," Mizuki said, looking rather excited. "when students have a large potential but for one reason or another can't pass the genin exam, we allow them to take additional tests to make up the portion or portions of the original exam that they have failed."

"Really?" Naruto asked, perking up at the thought that he could still face Harry tonight with his head held high.

"Yes really." Mizuki replied. "The other teachers and I have decided that you deserve to take the additional test to see if you can still become a genin. That is, if you're interested in taking the test of course?"

Naruto all but jumped the teacher. "Yes! Yes, I wanna take the test!"

"Good." Mizuki smiled with satisfaction. "You are of course familiar with the Sandaime's study in the Hokage Tower?"

"Yeah..." Naruto agreed confused. He had been in that room more times than he could count, but he didn't see what it had to do with a test for becoming a genin.

"Do you know what the forbidden scroll looks like?" Mizuki asked.

"Yeah, it's the biggest scroll in the room." Naruto replied. The forbidden scroll held techniques which were either too dangerous and/or too hard for anyone but the elite to try – not even all the ANBU have seen the full contents of the scroll, let alone mastered a technique from within it.

"Well, for this task you will be tested on your skills of stealth and learning." Mizuki said. "The real forbidden scroll will be replaced with a fake one, and your job is to steal it, take it to a safe location that I (as your "squad leader") will designate, and then you must learn and successfully execute at least one technique from the scroll. This is a re-enactment of a mission to infiltrate enemy territory and secure information. You have two hours to prepare, and then the test will start. That means you can no longer be seen and heard by anyone else at that time since you're supposed to be in enemy territory, do you understand?"

"Perfectly!" Naruto replied, itching to start his "mission".

"Excellent." Mizuki said, satisfied with Naruto's enthusiasm. "Then I expect to see you at the abandoned outpost 5 kilometres East by North-East from the Hokage Tower in four hours. That'll give you two hours to steal the scroll and master a technique. Good luck."

Naruto wasted no time in speeding away to his apartment to get ready. He wished he had learned the colour-changing spell since bright orange wouldn't help him in this mission, but since it had seemed to be a rather unimportant spell it hadn't been high on his or Harry's list for performing it wandlessly/making up the equivalent hand seals, so unfortunately neon orange would have to do. Picturing his brother's proud and happy face when he tells of his ninja status, Naruto ran with a smile.

* * *

"Are you sure we should really be out of the common room? McGonagall said we should stay there no matter what. And we still have to pack since they're going to be sending us home first thing tomorrow morning unless they find the culprit." Neville said, without really meaning it. The blond had been just as anxious to leave the stifling atmosphere of Gryffindor Tower and allow Ron and his brothers some privacy as Harry. And as much as they were avoiding the issue and pretending that this was just a casual (if not fast-paced) stroll to clear their heads, they were really hoping to find clues about Ginny and the Chamber since chances were that her time was swiftly running out. There had already been one fatality – Umbridge's body had been found beside Ginny's backpack just outside of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. They didn't want the mortality rate to jump to 2.

"If we're out here anyway, we might as well take a look." Harry rationalized. "And besides, I want to know why everything's happening there – Mrs. Norris was attacked there, we made the polyjuice potion and found that diary there and now Umbridge died there. It's like a hotspot of abnormal activity this year."

It wasn't long before they came across the scene of the crime. Aurors had already come to collect the body and investigate the scene hours ago, so now there was nothing there to suggest a murder took place except for the message written in red paint: _Her skeleton will remain in the Chamber forever._ Harry however ignored the message and went straight into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Neville following behind him.

"So what exactly are you looking for?" the blond asked.

"I don't know; I just think that it's highly suspicious that two of the three attacks happened here – especially since it was the only two attacks with a message left behind." Harry replied. After a cursorily look which revealed nothing of interest, Harry called out to see if the resident ghost was nearby. "Myrtle? Are you here?"

Neville jumped as Myrtle glided right through him in order to float in front of Harry. "Yes? What do you want? If you're here about the murder you might as well leave; I've already told the aurors I didn't see or hear anything so you better not badger me about it too." The ghost huffed, obviously in a bad mood from the aforementioned investigation.

"No, it's not that," Harry said, trying to think of another way to ask about what happened outside her bathroom without ticking her off even more. "We just happened to be walking by, and we thought we'd stop by so we could ask you, err...so we could ask you..."

"Ask you about how you died." Neville cut in, saving Harry from thinking up an excuse himself.

"How I died?" Myrtle repeated, voice tight with emotion. Neville and Harry looked at each other, unsure whether it was a good sign or a bad one.

"Yeah," Neville agreed, going with his excuse for hoping it would work. "I mean, we've spent a lot of time here with you this past year and it just occurred to us now that we didn't know how you ended up here in the first place. And I thought that, well, you seemed like a nice gho-, err person, and we ought to get to each other a bit more, yeah?"

The ghost looked at Neville as if she had never seen him, before letting out a squeal of pure joy. "You think I'm nice? You really like me?"

"Yeah, of course." Neville replied, gaining confidence when it seemed that Myrtle wasn't taking offence to his query. "I mean, you never bothered us or got us in trouble last term when we were making the polyjuice potion in here. I think that it was awfully nice of you."

Myrtle gave Neville the only genuine smile either boy had ever seen on her face. "Well, since you asked so nicely I guess I can tell you." Myrtle said coyly, the darkening silver on her cheeks letting the boys know that yes, ghosts can blush too. "It happened right here in this bathroom, around 50 years ago. I had been hiding in one of the cubicles because Olive Hornby had been making fun of my glasses, when I heard this hissing sound. But what really got to me was that it sounded like a _boy_. So I opened the cubicle door to tell him to bugger off and use his own bathroom, when suddenly," the ghost paused for dramatic effect "I died."

Neville and Harry shared a look. "You died? Just like that?" Neville asked.

"Yes," Myrtle replied, obviously relishing in the fact that people cared enough to ask the details of her sudden demise. "I just saw a pair of humongous yellow eyes, and the next thing I knew, I was dead."

"Where did you see the eyes?" Harry asked. Obviously Myrtle had died via basilisk stare, and remembering Dumbledore's hypothesis of the snake using the school plumbing to move around, chances were that a secret entrance to a tunnel/pipe connected to the Chamber was somewhere within the bathroom.

"Over there." Myrtle said, indicating the sinks. Harry and Neville wasted no time in turning taps and searching the pipes for a clue. Finally they found a sink where the water didn't run and a detailed carving of a snake was etched onto one of the taps.

"Well here goes nothing..." Harry murmured. "_**Open Sesame**__._"

There was a grinding noise of shifting stone as the floor beneath the 'broken' sink moved and the sink itself shifted out of the way, revealing a large pipe wider than Harry was tall. It looked slimy and gross, but with a determined look to the other both Harry and Neville knew that they would be going down with no hesitation.

"Myrtle," Harry spoke, his tone serious and in command. "We need you to alert the professors and any aurors with them that we've found the Chamber of Secrets – they're probably in McGonagall's office or the staff room. Bring them here right away. Neville and I will try and get Ginny."

Myrtle nodded, but right before she vanished through the wall she turned back. "Neville; if you die down there, you're welcome to share my toilet with me."

Harry held back a snort at Neville's blush as Myrtle left. With one final look of determination, the boys slid down the giant pipe.

* * *

'For a gaki wearing neon orange, he's not half bad at sneaking around.' The monkey-masked ANBU thought as he watched the Kyuubi vessel stealthily slip into the Hokage tower. Despite the hate and scorn the villagers and a handful of ninja stubbornly clung to in regards of the blue-eyed boy, as ANBU their loyalty and duty was to the Hokage first and foremost, and any who displayed the smallest bit of contempt towards the boy were swiftly dismissed. Currently, even those who had been leery and distrustful of the seal or who had just managed to hide and ignore their dislike successfully had been quickly swayed from their time of being the child's shadows and silent protectors as he grew. It was easy to see that the boy was as different from the Kyuubi as you can be; demonstrated each time the blond refused to use his developing ninja skills against those who hurt and slighted him, how he always kept a smile on his face and stayed optimistic, and how he genuinely cared for the Hokage and Konoha.

Therefore, even though at least half a dozen ANBU were aware of the blond child's presence, none made any movements to actually stop the boy from being in the Hokage Tower despite the fact that it was supposed to be limited to high-rank ninjas only during the night. After all, the boy was close with the Hokage and this wouldn't be the first time that Uzumaki had "put in extra hours" in order to try and catch the village leader flatfooted in a prank. Too bad he had yet to succeed – some of those pranks had been well thought out and executed.

When the boy left a few minutes later, the monkey-masked ninja went in to assess the damage. He was shocked to find the Sandaime unconscious with a bloody nose.

"Uzumaki finally got him?!" he asked surprised.

"Hmm." A female tiger-masked ANBU replied. "It was definitely a, _unique_ attack. I don't know whether I should congratulate the kid or kill him."

The monkey-masked ANBU was curious as to what the boy had done, but he had a strong enough sense of self-preservation to refrain from asking his tiger-masked colleague. Besides, he'd hear it soon enough in the ANBU grapevine of information/gossip.

"I'm surprised he made such a quick retreat – I thought for sure he would have stayed around to gloat." He stated.

"Well, I guess he was trying to escape his punishment. He did sneak into the Sandaime's study afterwards though; maybe he left another surprise for our dear Hokage and didn't want to ruin it." She hypothesized.

"Hmmm. Should we wake Hokage-sama?" the male ANBU asked.

"No," The tiger-masked ANBU replied. "He deserves what he got. Besides, I'm curious how long Uzumaki's technique will keep Sandaime-sama down for."

Monkey nodded his acquiesce and went back to his original post, wishing that he could have seen the 'attack' first hand.

* * *

Umino Iruka is generally an easy-going and fairly passive man. Though he is often teased by his colleagues for his mothering nature and goody-two shoes lifestyle, he rarely ever takes offence or gets mad. But those few who have experienced the young man's temper (generally misbehaving students and anyone foolish enough to compromise a child's safety in his vicinity) could tell that as long as the man's fuse may seem, when it blew it was a sight to behold.

And right now Umino Iruka was mad. No, scratch that; Umino Iruka was beyond being mad or pissed off. Umino Iruka's favourite student (who he thought of as a little brother) had been insulted, sabotaged and his spirits crushed. Umino Iruka wasn't after an apology; oh no, Umino Iruka was after _blood._

"Sandaime-sama!" the young teacher called out, ignoring the score of ANBU leaving from whatever meeting the Hokage had just held.

"I'm afraid whatever concerns you have will have to wait Iruka-kun." The Hokage said, more serious than the chunnin had ever seen him. "I'm dealing with a pressing issue right now, but I will speak to you first thing in the morning."

While normally that would be more than enough for the young man to apologize for taking up the Hokage's time and promise to be back the next morning, right now Iruka was on a mission and he wouldn't be stopped.

"Hokage-sama, I'm here about Naruto's test scores. He shouldn't have failed the genin exam. I was going over the results of each student, so that their future jounin instructors have a working knowledge as to their strengths and weaknesses, when I noticed that Naruto's overall score wasn't a failing grade; it wasn't even at the bottom of the class. Either there was some sort of misunderstanding (which I seriously doubt), or someone had purposely misled everyone to believe that he had failed."

As the hopeful genins' primary instructor (and therefore the one who knew the students' strengths, weaknesses and personalities the most) Iruka had been stuck all day making potential teams for the graduates, leaving the actual genin exam to be conducted by other instructors. It was also to prevent anyone complaining about favouritism since it was common knowledge within the village that Iruka and Naruto were close. He had been so upset on Naruto's behalf when he had heard the blond had failed, but after looking into the boy's tests and the proctors' notes, Iruka realized that Naruto had in fact passed no matter what everybody was saying.

Anything the Hokage would have responded with was interrupted with the sudden arrival of an ANBU.

"We have searched Uzumaki's apartment and there is no sign of either the boy or the scroll. Unit 6 will continue searching the surrounding neighbourhood before branching out."

Sarutobi gave a nod of both acknowledgement and dismissal and the ANBU disappeared.

"H-Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked. "What's going on? Why are the ANBU looking for Naruto?"

Sarutobi gave the academy teacher a searching look. "While normally I wouldn't divulge such information to a mere chunnin, your close bond with Naruto and your ability to find him might prove useful. And if we don't find Naruto soon, I'll have to change my order from retrieving him unharmed to retrieving him by any means necessary."

Iruka's eyes widened as the Hokage informed him of the situation, and it wasn't long before the chunnin was running as fast he could to find the missing 11 year old. The scarred man swore that once he found that boy...well, it wasn't going to be pretty.

* * *

Harry crept into the Chamber silently, alert for any signs of the deadly basilisk or mysterious heir. He hoped that Ginny was close by and unguarded – he just wanted to snag her and go back to meet with Neville who had been trapped on the wrong side of a cave in earlier in the tunnel and was now busy clearing a path for them to go through. He'd let the professors and ministry deal with the culprit themselves; his first priority was Ginny's safety.

Finally he caught sight of the fallen form of Ron's little sister. He resisted the impulse to run up and check if she was alright, and continued to creep along wary of an ambush. Long minutes passed and yet nothing happened as Harry got as close as possible to the fallen red-head while staying in the shadows. Finally deciding that it was as safe as it was going to get, Harry swiftly ran over to the younger girl and started performing some spells to assess her situation. The black-haired boy relaxed a bit in relief when he realized that Ginny was alright except for being low on energy and in a coma – while it wasn't the best situation it didn't seem to be life threatening at this point as her pulse was quite steady if not a little weak. But just as Harry was about to perform the levitation charm to float her back to help, he caught sight of a familiar small black book lying open on the ground, almost completely hidden by Ginny's body. Harry cautiously picked up the book in confusion – what would Riddle's diary be doing down here?

Suddenly, a movement at the corner of Harry's eye caused him to crouch defensively over the inert girl and spin around to face the threat.

Harry warily watched as a teenage boy, no older than 16, calmly walked up to him without a care in the world. The boy was fairly tall with dark brown hair that was almost black and bright greenish-blue eyes. The boy reminded Harry a bit of the muggle perception of ghosts in the way that the teenager's colours were a bit faded and the edges that made up his features seemed a bit blurry and distorted. Harry was sure he'd never seen him before despite the Slytherin crest and prefect badge on the boy's Hogwart's robes.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Harry asked the stranger, training his wand on the unknown boy.

"Who am I?" The other replied, still maintaining his casual air as if the fact that Harry's wand and hostility was nothing to be concerned about. "I'm insulted that you haven't figured it out Harry Potter; you are holding my diary after all."

"Riddle?" Harry asked, confused. The diary was dated to be 50 years old.

Harry took Tom's smug look of superiority as confirmation. Harry processed everything he knew about the situation and tried to think of a rational explanation. "So what; you're a ghost or something? And Slytherin's Heir? You're the one setting a basilisk on everybody?"

"Not quite. I am indeed Slytherin's Heir, but I'm neither a ghost nor the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets this time, who left messages on the wall, who murdered the half-giant's roosters, or who ordered the basilisk to attack all those people this past year. That was all little Ginny's doing." Tom replied, seemingly amused by the whole situation.

"What?" Harry asked, surprised. Though he didn't know the girl all that well, he had spent the majority of last summer with her and her family and was pretty sure that she wasn't that malicious. And besides, he was pretty sure that she wasn't a parselmouth either. "She may be the one who did those things, but I'm positive that you're the one responsible when all is said and done." Harry stated.

Riddle raised his eyebrow in surprise. "I'm impressed that you figured it out so quickly; perhaps there really is something more to you. She didn't take much coercing though; it's hardly my fault that she is just a silly girl who pours herself into a strange diary without an ounce of caution. But I'm not really interested in what goes on in the mind of little girls; what I want to know is how you survived the killing curse all those years ago. How is it possible for an infant to defeat the most powerful Dark Lord in over a century?"

"Listen;" Harry demanded not in the mood to deal with the arrogant twat. "I don't give a shit as to what you think or want. So here's the deal – you undo whatever the hell you did to Ginny and let me get her to the teachers _and then_ I'll sate your curiosity to your heart's desire."

"I don't think so," Riddle spoke threateningly, finally ditching the blasé facade. "You are both staying right here, fated to never see the light of day again. I've worked too hard to get you here Harry Potter; why do you think I attacked your muggleborn friend, or why I made this useless chit leave a message and come here instead of killing her with none the wiser? It was to lure you here, and there's no way I'll let you out of my sight now."

"Me?" Harry asked in surprise. "You've been targeting me? What for?"

As an explanation Riddle raised his wand and wrote out 'TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE' in giant letters in the air. With a quick flick of the wand the letters rearranged themselves to form 'I AM LORD VOLDEMORT'.

"So you see Harry Potter," Riddle said matter-of-factly as he vanished the chilling sentence. "I had a very good reason to bring you here. Now, I'll ask you again - how did you survive the killing curse?"

* * *

'I did it!' Naruto thought proudly as he slumped back in exhaustion and elation. It was now about an hour after he'd arrived at the rendezvous point and fifteen minutes until Mizuki-sensei was due to arrive. The copying charm he'd used had already finished its job about ten minutes ago, and now Naruto possessed a duplicate of all the information from "the enemy scroll" in his pocket. The blond knew that he was all but guaranteed to pass now that he'd made a duplicate on top of mastering one of the techniques from the scroll, and he took the time to bask in the moment.

He'd only been relaxing for a few minutes when his peace was disturbed by his favourite sensei, looking panicked and angry.

"Ohayo Iruka-sensei!" Naruto called out in greeting, still too happy, proud, and relaxed to worry about what the scarred instructor was doing out there in such a state. "Watcha doing here?"

"Naruto!" Iruka replied ignoring the friendly greeting. "Do you have any idea what you did?!"

Naruto regarded his sensei in confusion. "Of course I know what I did." Naruto replied matter-of-factly. "I passed Mizuki-sensei's test and now I'm going to be a genin."

Iruka stopped himself from the long and loud lecture he was about to let loose as the blonde's words processed in his brain. "Wai-, what? Mizuki-sensei's test? What are you talking about Naruto?"

"Mizuki-sensei's test; Mizuki-sensei said that students that are just shy of passing the genin exam get to try doing an extra test which will let them become a genin if they pass. And I got the scroll and learned a technique from it like Mizuki-sensei wanted, so I pass. Do you want to see?" Naruto asked, still high on his success.

Iruka's voice died in his throat. He had thought that this was a result of a prank taken too far – that after a bit of scolding, a lecture on boundaries when pranking, and a little ramen at Ichikaru's for a celebration/talk of Naruto's actual scores in the genin exams, the whole episode could be forgotten. But not only did Naruto open and read the scroll (and learn one of its techniques, which is beyond unsafe for a mere academy graduate), but the whole thing was orchestrated by a fellow ninja and stank of betrayal and conspiracy. Iruka knew he had to get Naruto and the scroll out of there A.S.A.P. and alert the Hokage of Mizuki's treachery.

"Naruto, we need to leave now. Give me the scroll and we'll go to see Hokage-sama."

Naruto looked up at the dead serious tone in which Iruka spoke. It was the same one he used when explaining some of the drastic and morbid aspects of certain jutsus or shinobi life. The one he only used when he wanted to convey the seriousness of a situation.

Before Naruto had a chance to reply, he was shoved away by Iruka and hit the ground hard. He looked up to see his teacher among a hail of kunai which had obviously been meant for him.

Naruto's and Iruka's heads whipped around to the source of the projectiles, where a grey-haired chunnin stood on a nearby branch. "The scroll is coming with me."

"Mizuki..." Iruka growled as he pulled out one of the thrown kunai which had become lodged in his thigh. The academy instructor was angry at the betrayal of his peer who he had thought of as a best friend.

"Mizuki-sensei...Iruka-sensei...what's going on?" Naruto asked as he tried to make sense of the open hostility between the two instructors who had until now seemed like such good friends.

"Mizuki is a traitor to Konoha and its people; he tricked you into stealing the forbidden scroll for him. Under no circumstances are you to trust him or give him the scroll; do you understand?" Iruka replied, never taking his eyes off of the treacherous chunnin in front of him. Once the scarred chunnin saw the blonde's hesitant nod from the corner of his eye he continued. "Good. Now take the scroll and run; I'll hold him off until the ANBU get here."

The grey-haired ninja laughed. "Please! You, hold me off?! Do you not remember who among us is the stronger one Iruka? Remember, I used to be a jounin before I became aware of Konoha's hypocritical and weak ways.* There's no way you, who have never strived to become anything more than an academy teacher, could ever hope to beat me!"

Iruka ignored Mizuki's taunts as he charged forward and attacked. "Naruto! Go now!"

Naruto didn't want to leave Iruka like this, but he knew that Mizuki was after the scroll. And since it was the real forbidden scroll and not a fake duplicate filled lesser techniques like he'd been led to believe for his "test", Naruto knew that it shouldn't have left the Hokage Tower; not only would Konoha suffer from the loss of such high level techniques, it would be disastrous if one of their enemies got a hold of it.

But he had only managed a couple of steps before Iruka let out a panicked cry and tackled him to the ground. Naruto looked up past the pain-filled face to see a giant shuriken lodged in the teachers back.

"Now why would you do a thing like that?" Mizuki asked, sounding disappointed in Iruka's decision to shield Naruto from the giant projectile. "Don't tell me you actually _care_ for that monster!"

"He's not a monster!" Iruka replied vehemently, turning around to face the traitor after pulling out the shuriken.

"Of course he is!" Mizuki retorted with certainty. "You know he is! The whole village knows he is! Why do you think everybody hates him?"

"Wh-what?" Naruto asked with growing trepidation and confusion.

"Don't say anything Mizuki! You know the law – you can't tell him!" Iruka yelled to the other chunnin.

"Law? What law?" Naruto asked, feeling as though he _had_ to know what they were talking about.

"Why, the law that says no one can call you what you really are – the nine-tailed demon who attacked our village twelve years ago and killed Iruka's parents': the Kyuubi!"

"Ky-Kyuubi?" Naruto repeated, stunned. "But the Fourth killed the Kyuubi!"

Mizuki laughed at the blonde's naivety. "No; that's what we tell the younger generation. The truth is that Kyuubi wasn't killed, but sealed away. _In you_."

Naruto unconsciously took a step back, shaking his head in denial. He wasn't the Kyuubi, he was just a kid. But Naruto couldn't ignore the little voice in his head which pointed out the illogical hate most villagers had towards him, how the biju were supposedly immortal, how his birthday happened to be the same day that the Kyuubi had supposedly died.

"But that doesn't make him the Kyuubi himself!" Iruka protested, defending the boy he saw as a little brother. "He's the demon's jailer; the one keeping Konoha safe from the nine-tails! Yodaime-sama himself wanted us to treat Naruto as a hero!"

Naruto felt some hope return with Iruka's speech. Iruka didn't think he was a monster! And what's more, the Yodaime, who was practically a legend, thought he, Naruto, was a hero!

"Enough of this!" Mizuki yelled out. "I thought you'd understand Iruka, but apparently you have been fooled by the fox's tricks. No matter; I'll just kill two instead of one tonight."

With that said Mizuki grabbed his second giant windmill shuriken and ran straight at the younger chunnin. "Die!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed in determination as he intercepted Mizuki's attack, and using a move Fuzzy-Brows taught him had the traitorous academy teacher flying back through the air, the shuriken flying far out of reach.

Naruto landed protectively in front of his precious person ready to defend to the death.

"Don't touch Iruka-sensei!" Naruto growled out threateningly. "Or I'll kill you!"

Mizuki stood up a bit shakily; he didn't expect an academy student, let alone this academy student, to have such a strong kick or such good taijutsu skills. But he easily shook off any doubt or shock.

"Ha!" Mizuki laughed. "You think _you_ can stop _me_?! I'll finish off a brat like you in two seconds flat!"

"Just try!" Naruto goaded. "Anything you do to me, I'll return a thousand fold!"

That said Naruto put his hands together to perform the technique he'd spent an hour mastering in that very clearing. The blond thought it only fair that Mizuki saw the results of his own treachery.

"_Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_"

* * *

'This is f***ing ridiculous!' Harry thought as he quickly rolled out of the way, saving himself from the fate of being basilisk food. He might be far ahead in terms of power and knowledge compared to his year-mates, and have additional shinobi training equal to that of a newly-graduated genin, but that didn't mean he was ready to take on a fifty foot snake which could not only squish, swallow or crush him with ease, but could also kill by making eye contact and had foot long fangs coated with a poison so strong it melted the stone floor. Right now it was all Harry could do to stay alive and keep the snake's attention on himself rather than Ginny's prone form. Harry had tried briefly to go on the offensive, but he had quickly learned that spells seemed to bounce off it and even the small kitchen knives Harry carried around as substitutes for kunai did nothing. The only vulnerability Harry could detect was the face, and Harry wasn't willing to get close enough to its mighty jaws in order to score a hit. If only he didn't have to keep his own eyes shut and then maybe he could have taken out the basilisk's eyes by throwing the knives from a distance.

"You might as well give up." The gloating voice of Tom Riddle said as Harry continued running, diving and dodging every which way. "It's going to get you eventually. And even if it doesn't, you'll be trapped here forever. Who else besides you and I can even open the Chamber? Nobody! Just let my pet end your existence quickly and painlessly instead of drawing it out slowly and painfully through starvation."

Harry growled and wished not for the first time he could shut Riddle up and then curse and hex him repeatedly for good measure. Unfortunately all spells just went through the memory/ghost/thing – it was one of the first things Harry had tried. Riddle would only be solid enough to duel when the other boy finished draining Ginny of her life force – something Harry wanted to avoid at all costs. He had managed to slow down the process by using a stasis spell on the first-year girl, but unless Harry found a way to stop Riddle, Ginny's time was steadily running out.

"The wizarding world is as good as mine," Riddle continued as if Harry cared about what he was saying. "It won't be long until I'm at full power, and then I'll continue purging the school of filth."

Harry ducked behind a pillar and took out Riddle's diary, sending an 'incendo' at it. The flames didn't actually do any damage, like every other spell Harry had sent at the stupid book, but Harry wasn't about to stop trying since he was convinced that Riddle would be destroyed with the diary. And besides, it was always gratifying to see Riddle flinch each time he sent a hex at it.

"Stop that!" Riddle demanded as Harry sent a cutting curse at the diary. "Haven't you already realized by now that it's pointless? I'm the greatest wizard to ever live! There's no one that can help you now!"

Harry's retort died in his throat as a faint musical sound reached his ears. Riddle seemed to hear it too since he had stopped and tilted his head to listen better. It was becoming louder as the source approached and Harry couldn't find words to describe it – the song reached past his ears into his very being, filling him with hope and bravery. It was like everything good in the world, in song form.

Riddle and the basilisk seemed to be equally affected since neither moved an inch since the noise had first been detected. Finally, with a final burst of song which rattled Harry's bones, a fiery figure swooped down from above, dropping something at Harry's feet and then settled on Harry's shoulder, projecting warmth and comfort from where it touched.

"Fawkes?" Harry asked, recognising the bird from all those months ago in Dumbledore's office. But now the phoenix was no longer sickly and old nor young and bald – now the phoenix glowed with strength and health and was truly a sight to behold.

"A phoenix..." Riddle muttered, seeming to break out of the Fawkes induced stupor. "And the sorting hat. That's what Hogwart's sends to its protector?! A raggedy tattered hat and a songbird?!"

Harry ignored Riddle's laughing as he looked to down and realized that Riddle spoke the truth; the thing that Fawkes had dropped at his feet was the school's old sorting hat. He had no idea what good either would do, but he knew enough about magic to know that anything could happen.

And sure enough, Riddle hadn't even finished his laughing fit before Fawkes spread his wings and soared into the air, heading straight for the basilisk. Riddle watched in mild amusement as the swan sized bird (though still tiny in comparison to the giant serpent) dove and swerved as it attacked. But all amusement vanished when Riddle realised the bird's intention as it dove and successfully pierced one of the basilisk's bulbous eyes.

Harry didn't bother looking up as the snake gave an angry and agonised hiss; he hid behind one of the Chamber's columns and put on the sorting hat.

'Er, hello? Sorting Hat?' Harry thought, hoping to find out what the sorting hat was brought for. 'There's a giant basilisk which wants to kill students here, and I was hoping for a little help to kill it.'

Harry waited for a moment but the sorting hat remained silent. Just when he reached up to take the hat off, something hard hit him on the head. The second-year boy swore as he rubbed his head, letting the sorting hat and the object within fall to the floor with a muffled clang. Harry reached in and pulled out a long sword, adorned with rubies and engraved with the name 'Godric Gryffindor'.

Harry had been hoping for a rooster so that he wouldn't have to get to close to the basilisk, but beggars can't be choosers and all that. He peeked around the column to see that Fawkes had successfully pecked out both eyes of the basilisk and Riddle was trying to command the vengeful snake to forget about the phoenix and attack Harry once again. Harry snuck up while they were still distracted, and gripping the hilt with both hands he plunged the sword as far as possible into the thick body of the snake. It wasn't like cutting butter with a hot knife or anything, but it did pierce the basilisk's scales and for that Harry was happy.

The snake hissed angrily and twisted around to attack, barely giving Harry enough time to yank the sword out and evade the snapping jaws. They continued this game of stabbing, snapping and evading for long minutes, Fawkes helping by distracting the snake whenever possible. Even so, there was only two or three substantial wounds that the basilisk sustained since most of Harry's attacks only had time to shallowly cut before Harry had to dodge the poisonous fangs or swinging tail once again.

Riddle watched on with growing impatience and anger. While at first the idea that the little second-year could use a sword almost as tall as himself to defeat a basilisk a hundred times his size was amusing, the longer it went on the less amusing it became. Riddle casually pointed Ginny's stolen wand towards the action and waited for the right moment.

He had been mid-dodge when Harry had seen it coming. He had tried as best as possible to avoid the incoming blasting hex as well as the snake's gaping mouth. Though he avoided one, he came a bit too close to the blasting hex. It hit the floor right beside him, sending rocks and chunks of floor flying every which way; some of which slammed into Harry, throwing him to the floor. The snake, sensing the vulnerability of its prey, opened up to swallow the boy whole. Harry didn't even have enough time to stand up as he lifted the sword above him, hoping to fend off the attack. The basilisk stabbed Harry in the stomach with a poisoned fang as Harry thrust the sword through the roof of its mouth into the snake's brain, killing it instantly. Harry didn't process his victory, or the snake falling to its side causing the fang lodged in the boy's stomach to snap off from the jaw. All Harry knew was fiery pain as he writhed in agony on the stone floor.

Riddle walked over to the convulsing and bloody boy. "You killed my snake. But it got you too. Basilisk poison is the most lethal in the world – I'm surprised you haven't died yet. You're magic must be trying desperately to keep you alive. It's futile though; you probably only have a few agonizing seconds left, tops."

Harry didn't hear a word of Riddle's speech though; his mind was consumed by the pain. Seeing this Riddle decided on another course of action. "Maybe I'll ease your suffering for you; _diffindo_."

But the severing charm was intercepted as Fawkes flew down protectively over the dying child. The poor phoenix was cut in two, the top half by Harry's chest and the bottom half over Harry's thighs. But even with Fawkes' intervention, Harry still got a deep gash across his abdomen, though not as severe as it would have been.

Riddle took in the sight of the felled boy, still impaled with the basilisk fang, large gash across his body, covered basilisk blood, phoenix blood (and phoenix parts), and his own blood. "Pathetic." Riddle sneered. "I think I'll just leave you like this, so you can die like the filth you are." With one last look of contempt, Riddle turned his back to the boy and walked away.

* * *

Iruka was still staring in shock as the last shadow clone popped away leaving the sheepish original Naruto and the bloody, bruised and beaten form of Mizuki alone in the middle of the clearing.

"Heh heh," Naruto laughed self-consciously, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I think I might have over did it a bit."

Iruka couldn't answer him just yet; he was still trying to remember how to blink, let alone working out how to talk. He couldn't believe that Naruto, an academy student with terrible chakra control, had mastered an S-rank jutsu that most jounins had problems with, and had used it to create hundreds more clones than Iruka thought possible to create with that technique! He bet that even the Hokage would only be able to make about a hundred clones, and yet Naruto had just made about three hundred and was hardly winded!

"Iruka-sensei, are you okay?" Naruto asked once satisfied that Mizuki wasn't going to be waking up anytime soon.

"Yes, of course." Iruka replied, still in awe of what Naruto accomplished. Suddenly the chunnin remembered what had brought him out of his house in the first place earlier that evening. "Naruto, come here; I have a surprise for you."

Naruto eagerly made his way to his sensei, always happy to get a surprise. Iruka bade him to sit down so that they were facing each other eye to eye.

"Now close your eyes."

Naruto did as asked, though he was almost vibrating with anticipation. Iruka let loose an indulgent smile at Naruto's antics as he swiftly untied his headband and tied it around Naruto's forehead.

"Okay, open your eyes now."

Naruto brought his hands up to his head, feeling the object that Iruka placed there. His eyes widened in shock as he processed the familiar symbol carved into the metal plate on his forehead and Iruka's lack of hitai-ite.

"Congratulations Naruto, in making the rank of genin."

Naruto gave a yell of shocked delight and threw himself at the other man. He was so happy he thought he'd burst!

The two pseudo brothers spent long minutes holding each other, happy to relish the moment. Naruto's smile broadened as he thought of his other brother. He couldn't wait to tell Harry about all that had happened; this time it had been his turn to have the adventure!

* * *

Though Harry hadn't processed one word of Riddle's speech or any of his recent actions, slowly things were becoming clearer, and the pain was no longer as all-consuming (though it still robbed him of most of his awareness). Harry finally noticed Fawkes' head right beside him, letting pearly tears fall from its eyes into Harry's mouth. Then Harry caught sight of the basilisk fang protruding from his stomach, and with a desperate wrench, yanked it free. Riddle spun around at the sound of the pained cry and saw Harry's shaking hands remove his diary from his robe pocket.

"What are you doing?! Put that down!" Riddle cried, running back to the second year.

Harry didn't hear or notice Riddle since he was solely focused on the diary and the fang, determined to destroy the diary before he died. Riddle yelled as Harry plunged the fang into the diary, causing the venom to eat through the book and spilling ink all over the floor.

Harry barely paid attention to Riddle's convulsing and disappearing form though as he felt himself weaken once again. He looked to Fawkes and noticed for the first time that the bird was split in two, and its eyes were steadily diming as the flow of tears become more sluggish with tears coming fewer and farther in between. Harry finally succumbed to the pain from the basilisk venom and slipped unconscious, moments before Fawkes closed his eyes and succumbed to his own wound. No one was conscious to see Fawkes' body light up in a haze of fire. Or how that fire spread to consume Harry as well.

* * *

*For those of you who haven't seen this episode (146 I believe) of the anime, basically Mizuki had killed a fellow leaf ninja on a mission since the other had been injured and, while not life-threatening, the injury would have slowed the team down and perhaps cause them to fail. I don't know if Mizuki really had been a jounin or not, but in this story he had been and then was demoted to chunnin after that incident.

A/N: Yes, I know; I've left it at a cliffhanger. Don't worry, I plan to have the next chapter up within a week.

I've also killed off Umbridge. I originally had plans for her to be more of an opposition for Harry, but obviously I didn't follow through with those plans, so she didn't really do much except serve as a background villain. I wasn't really sure what to do with her, and then the next thing I knew, she's dead.

That's two characters now that I've killed when I hadn't planned on it. Hopefully I won't make this into some sort of habit...

**Q&A**

**your writing style tends towards the 'info-dump' end of the spectrum, which *really* throws off the flow of the story. nothing personal, but i find myself skimming or even skipping the larger paragraphs. a well-developed background is a good thing to have, but shoving it down the reader's throat isn't the best way to tell a story.**

Yes, I noticed that. I was rather hoping nobody else would, as impossible as that hope was. One day, when I'm not so lazy, have finished writing the story and what other stories the plot-bunnies insist I write, have a lot of free time, am not lazy (it bears mentioning a second, or better yet fifth time); then I will go back and try to smooth out the story so that it flows more, edit it to make sure I don't keep repeating the same information (and make sure there isn't too much straight-from-canon stuff), and fix up the grammar and tenses so it isn't as horrid. One day. Maybe. Hopefully before we all die of old age.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: My chapters are getting longer and longer...I think I'm getting impatient for Harry and Naruto to meet. But more must be done before that time...*hides from angry people who wants them to meet NOW*. I'm sorry if I tricked anyone into thinking they were meeting now; I guess last chapter's situation was pretty ideal, huh?

And I'm sorry for any mistakes – those were definitely mine. I kind of rushed my beta because of my promise to have this chapter up within a week of chapter 21's posting. I would have gotten it to her sooner, but I realized that I had the bell test pretty much straight from canon and I was like "Agh! What am I doing! Bad author, bad! No more straight from canon!". Hopefully my alternate scene of Kakashi reminiscing about his new team will do its job of introducing team 7 without being the same thing you watched/read a thousand times before. And then once I had sent that copy to her, I decided to squeeze chapter 23 along with it to make a super long chapter instead of two shorter chapters. So three cheers for my beta and her never-ending patience! Hip-hip-hooray! Hip-hip-hooray! Hip-hip-hooray!

Many reviews make a good point; I don't know the term for red-heads either....gingers? (just joking! I have a red-headed friend who hates that term.). And on that note, what do you call silver-haired people like Kakashi? Old? ;P

* * *

Ginny woke with a start. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on (no Weasley was very functional just after waking up) but she knew that for some reason she was terrified. Once her heart rate went down to more manageable levels, and her brain was functioning a bit more, the young first-year took stock of her surroundings. She let out a gasp as it all came rushing back to her – feeling her body moving against her will, coming back to herself just to see Tom Riddle emerge from the diary, her failing consciousness as Riddle gloated about how he was going to kill her idol and the rest of her family, how she was going to die....

Tears leaked unbidden from her eyes as she recalled her nightmarish day. But quickly she snapped out of it when she saw a humongous snake lying in a pool of blood on the stone floor. She warily made her way to the creature, and summoning all her bravery she kicked it. It didn't even nudge the giant serpent, but Ginny was satisfied that it was dead, though she had no idea how it happened. Gradually losing her fear, she walked around the large beast in awe of the huge snake. But all thoughts of the snake fled her mind as she finally noticed another figure on the stone floor.

"Harry!" Ginny cried as she ran over to his prone body. The second-year boy was unconscious and to her embarrassment, completely naked. He was surprisingly clean, which flabbergasted the girl since he was surrounded by blood and ash. There were some ashes on his body as well, and in a large pile on his chest a baby bird was twittering. At Harry's side lay three objects – Riddle's diary (which Ginny had barely recognized due to the sizable hole through its middle), a bloody sword with rubies set on the hilt, and a large fang which probably came from the giant snake.

But just as Ginny found the resolve to try and touch Harry to wake him up, a muffled noise grabbed her attention. She followed it to the back of the chamber, picking up what looked to be the Sorting Hat from the floor as she went (though she couldn't imagine what the sorting hat would be doing _here_). She finally found herself in front of a large metal door where someone was pounding and yelling from the other side.

"H-hello? Who's there?" Ginny called out. Though she was fairly confident that Riddle was gone since his diary was destroyed, and she no longer felt his presence at the back of her mind (which she was sad to admit she had at first welcomed, at least until she suspected Tom's more devious nature), Ginny wasn't ready to open the door without knowing what was going on.

"Miss Weasley?" the squeaky voice of Professor Flitwick asked. "Is that you? My, that's a relief! Is Mr. Potter with you? Open the door for us so we can take you back to the school."

Ginny pulled down on the handle and pushed, opening the door to three familiar faces; the relieved one of Professor Flitwick, the worried one of Madame Pomphrey and the unreadable one of Professor Snape.

"It's about time; we've been trying to blast our way through for the past five minutes! Where have you been?" Snape asked sharply.

All previous courage left Ginny as she shrank back; it was too soon after a traumatic event to really stand up for herself. Madame Pomphrey gave the potions professor a stern glare before ushering Ginny to the side to take care of, leaving the other two to explore the Chamber. Snape practically salivated at the sight of the dead basilisks – just one eighth of that monster would be enough to provide him with the means to live the rest of his life in luxury. He was interrupted in his daydreaming by his colleague.

"Oh my word! It's Mr. Potter!"

Snape reluctantly joined Flitwick to see to the ever troublesome student. His mind quickly noticed the bloody sword, broken fang and ruined diary. And to his surprise a baby Fawkes. He wasn't sure what had happened, but it looked like somehow Potter had killed the basilisk.

Madame Pomphrey joined the other adults as Flitwick picked up the baby bird and Snape took of his cloak to give the boy some modesty. "We should get the two back up to the castle – they both seem fine physically, but I'd rather get them to the hospital wing as soon as possible anyway."

"Of course," Flitwick agreed, levitating Mr. Potter. Madame Pomphrey followed him, allowing Snape to pick up the bloody sword. The potions master wished he could carry the fang with them as well, but he knew enough about basilisks to know not to touch it and considering how it was still covered in venom (and what looked to be ink) he didn't want to levitate it either since the dripping venom would burn and destroy anything it touched. He looked longingly at the basilisk corpse, wishing he had the necessary tools on him to cut up and store the snake parts. Madame Pomphrey saw his look and frowned.

"Severus! There are two children who have undergone an extremely traumatic event and need proper care! You can come back for the bloody snake later – the children come first!" The healer scolded.

But they had barely left the threshold of the Chamber before the large metal door swung shut and once again refused to open no matter what spell Snape used. The dour man swore and screamed, but couldn't open the door again.

"Don't be so angry," the ever cheerful Flitwick spoke. "Mr. Potter did find a way into the Chamber after all. You'll just have to wait until he wakes to ask him."

Snape face relaxed a bit from the truth in that statement before becoming pinched. Snape just realized that he was now actually looking forward to the Potter brat's awakening. What was life coming to?!

They silently made their way back to the entrance at Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, not that Ginny knew that since she had very little memories of when Riddle possessed her to make the same journey earlier. Not long after they passed an area that looked to have caved in they came to a dead end with the opening to a massive pipe. Resting in the pipe was a stretcher attacked to ropes which disappeared within the pipe.

"You first, Miss Weasley." Madame Pomphrey said. "Sit on the stretcher and Minerva will raise you up."

Ginny shakily did as she was bid, and no sooner than she had settled herself the stretcher raised itself at a steady pace brought on by magic to the top. She had barely taken in the sight of Myrtle's bathroom and Professor McGonagall's relieved face before she was swept up in a hug.

"My baby! Oh, my baby is alright!" Her mother cried on her shoulder, hugging her tight. She also felt her father who had his arms thrown over both her and her mother, silently crying on her other shoulder. That seemed to be her own breaking point as everything from the past year caught up to her and she fell apart in the safety of her parents' arms, sobbing so hard her breath was stolen from her.

"Arthur," Minerva spoke to the only one of the Weasley trio who wasn't completely lost in the reunion. "Perhaps you would like to go to my office for some privacy. I'll send the rest of your children along once things have settled down a bit."

The Weasley patriarch nodded gratefully before gently guiding his wife and daughter out the door. Minerva sighed before turning her attention back to stretcher which revealed the unconscious body of Harry Potter draped with a cloak too large for him. She transfigured a cot out of a napkin and using magic gently placed the boy there as the stretcher descended once again to retrieve the adults.

Once everyone was out, the sink slid back to its proper place, despite Snape's efforts to prevent it.

"And now we must deal with the aftermath. Do we know what happened down there?" Minerva asked her peers.

"No; Miss Weasley was unconscious for the most part, only waking up to find Mr. Potter already in this state and the basilisk dead. We will have to wait for Mr. Potter to wake up to get our answers." Flitwick replied.

"Knowing Potter he will take his sweet time." Snape groused, still upset that the goldmine known as the basilisk was currently out of his reach.

"Now don't be grumpy," Flitwick countered. "There's plenty to occupy ourselves with while we wait. I have to drop off Fawkes in Dumbledore's office, then I'll go see if the Aurors have arrived yet and then check on my ravens. I suggest you drop off that sword, check on your slytherins and see if Septima would like to be relieved from guarding Lockhart."

On their way to Myrtle's bathroom, Snape and Vector had come across the fully packed and fleeing Lockhart. Due to the Defence Professors "suspicious actions", they had decided to restrain the man and use some veritaserum on him. They discovered that Lockhart was a fraud (not that that was surprising) and had erased the memories of real heroes so he could claim that he did the deeds himself. Vector was still with him acting as a guard.

"Where are Miss Weasley and Mr. Longbottom?" Poppy asked the Gryffindor Head. Snape, Flitwick and Pomphrey had come across Neville clearing a path from a cave in soon after sliding down the pipe. They had sent him back up to the castle as they magically cleared the way and then continued their journey to the actual Chamber.

"Pomona had taken him to her office." Minerva replied. "And Arthur and Molly Weasley are with their daughter right now in my office – I had been in a meeting with them when Myrtle had arrived to tell me of the situation."

"Well, there's no use standing here when there's so much to do." Poppy said. "I'm going to take Mr. Potter to the hospital wing. Minerva; be sure to send Miss Weasley and Mr. Longbottom sometime soon. Even though they seemed fine, a second look wouldn't hurt."

They left the girl's bathroom en masse, splitting off to do their various duties and putting off their numerous questions until later.

* * *

"Finally! You're awake! I've been waiting to talk to you for forever!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing himself at his brother.

In truth Naruto hadn't been waiting that long – the night before he hadn't dreamt of the dreamscape (probably since he had been too worn out from the Mizuki incident) and he had only 'woken' up a few minutes before Harry.

"Look, look, look!" Naruto exclaimed indicating his forehead protector. "I'm a ninja now! Isn't that awesome? You won't _believe _what happened!"

Harry barely had time to offer his excited and sincere congratulations before Naruto started the story of his 'fail' and the following 'private test'. But when Naruto got to the part of Mizuki's revelation, he hesitated.

"What? What happened? Naruto?" Harry asked, knowing that something significant must've happened for Naruto to stop talking.

Stealing one last look at his brother, Naruto began talking while studying his feet. "Well you know how the Fourth was a hero 'cause he defeated the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah." Harry replied. He knew that story well since his little brother was always eager to share stories of his idol.

"Well, Mizuki said that it was a lie – the Yondaime didn't kill the Kyuubi. He said that he had sealed it, in me."

Harry was shocked to know that Naruto housed the most powerful demon of all time. But that didn't stop him from noticing the fearful expression on Naruto's face or how the blond was trying to close in on himself, scrunching his shoulders and making himself as small as possible. Harry grabbed the other boy and pulled him into a hug. Not letting go he spoke in the blonde's ear.

"It doesn't matter what's sealed in you; you are still Naruto, my brother. The Kyuubi defines you no more than you being blond or me being a parselmouth. It's something you have to live with, but it doesn't change who you are as a person."

Naruto felt some tears of relief escaping at Harry's unconditional love and support, which he quickly wiped off by burrowing deeper into Harry's shirt. They sat like that for long moments before Naruto pulled away from the embrace, but he continued leaning against the other boy to maintain contact.

"I talked to Ojii about it and he said that it was the only way to stop it from destroying Konoha. So I'm kind of glad that I hold the Kyuubi, 'cause that means that I helped save Konoha and my precious people. But I hate how the villagers think that _I'm_ the demon! I hate how they look at me and how they treat me! I mean, I didn't like it when I didn't know about the Kyuubi being sealed in me either, but before I thought that it was 'cause they didn't know me. That if I proved how good I was and became an awesome ninja, they would change their minds. But now, no matter how much I try, or what I do I'll always have the Kyuubi in me. And so no matter what I do they'll _always_ hate me." Naruto vented.

"You were right about one thing," Harry replied. "They don't see the real you. And really, that's their loss. They are blind and stupid if they think you're the Kyuubi – if you were, you'd have killed them long ago for mistreating you. Forget them. I'm proud of you and I'm more happy that I can say that you're my brother. Everyone else can go to hell."

Naruto gave a watery smile. "Thanks Harry. I'm glad you're my brother too. But I still want their acknowledgement. I want to show them that they're wrong, that I'm not the Kyuubi and that I can be the Hokage." The blonde spoke with resolve. Harry wanted to persuade Naruto otherwise, but he knew that once Naruto had his heart set on something it was almost impossible to stop the stubborn boy.

The rest of Naruto's story was told without incident, and therefore finished quickly.

"So this time it was me who had an A-rank adventure!" Naruto goaded, referring to last year when Harry had faced Voldemort. "Take that!"

"Well actually...." Harry said with a sheepish smile. "You know the whole Chamber of Secrets thing and the basilisk. Well Ginny, Ron's little sister, had-"

A while later Harry had finally finished what he knew. "So, I'm pretty sure that Riddle's gone now, but I have no idea how I survived. I mean, I was positive that I was dying!"

Naruto looked scared at the idea of Harry suddenly dying without giving him the chance to say goodbye or anything. "Well, maybe somebody healed you or something. You said Pomphrey was a really good medic."

"Yeah, but how would she have gotten down to the Chamber?" Harry replied. "And even if she did get there in time, I was in pretty bad shape. She'd have had to work miracles and then I would've assumed that all that magic would have been more than enough to pull one of us toward the other (I think it's safe to say that we won't just stay in our own home worlds since I was dying and my magic still maintained the bond instead of concentrating solely on healing me). I mean, summoning a patronus last year had been enough to make me feel a jolt; this year I had been inches from death and had enough magic pumped into me to heal me from being stabbed and poisoned by a basilisk."

Naruto thought things through a bit, before speaking a bit hesitantly. "Well, Luna did say that it was our own magic that sustained the bond and would eventually pull us together. Having foreign magic heal you wouldn't have stressed the bond at all, in fact it would have helped it since then you could use more of your own magic to strengthen it. Maybe if you hadn't been saved when you were things would be different, but as it is we're still in our own dimensions."

Harry absentmindedly agreed with the sound logic. Sometimes Naruto confused him; he could be as thick and oblivious as a brick wall, but then the next minute he would say something very insightful and ingenious.

Just then Naruto came to a realization; Harry had had another A or S rank adventure! Naruto gave a frustrated yell about the unfairness of it all, how it was supposed to be _his_ turn to risk life and limb. Harry laughed at his brother's antics, which led to Naruto tackling the older boy. Soon it resulted in a full out spar. All the while Harry and Naruto couldn't help but think how lucky they were to have the other there.

* * *

Harry awoke to the familiar sight and smell and the hospital wing. He bit back a groan; he already had the record for the most visits to the hospital wing due to his weekly lessons on healing with Madame Pomphrey, but he definitely didn't want the record for the most amount of time spent injured in the hospital wing.

As if they were reading his thoughts, someone at Harry's bedside let out a small chuckle. Harry turned over to see the identity of his visitor, and wasn't surprised to see the Headmaster there. He was surprised to see the healthy and whole (if not young) phoenix familiar, however.

"Fawkes! You're okay!" Harry exclaimed, remembering how the phoenix had been cut in two in the Chamber of Secrets.

The bird chirped in agreement before hopping off Dumbledore's shoulder to cuddle with Harry on the bed.

"Everyone emerged from the Chamber unscathed. How that came to be, we are still unsure. I was rather hoping that you could fill in the blanks for me." Dumbledore said.

"Everyone's okay? Ginny too?" Harry asked.

"Yes, she's fine. Baring Madame Umbridge, everyone has fully recovered from the basilisk attacks, I've been reinstated as Headmaster and Hagrid has been retrieved from Azkaban. Though I do wonder about your role in the story. You were found in the Chamber lying in a pool of blood with a dead Basilisk nearby. Can you explain how that came to be?"

Harry told the Headmaster everything he knew. Figuring out where the Chamber was, the cave-in which had separated him and Neville, Tom Riddle and the diary, the arrival of Fawkes and the Sorting Hat, and his last acts of consciousness.

"I had thought for sure that I was dying. I honestly didn't expect to wake up whole and healthy – Madame Pomphrey must have worked wonders." Harry concluded, hand placed over where the basilisk fang had pierced him. There wasn't even a scar.

"It wasn't Madame Pomphrey who healed you." Dumbledore said. "I think I know what happened, even though I don't know the long-term effects. But when Fawkes burnt to be reborn, you got caught in the blaze and became reborn too."

"What?" Harry asked confused. "Is that even possible? And if that's the case, why haven't I de-aged like Fawkes?"

"I don't have all the answers, but I assume the only reason you could have experienced a burning with Fawkes at all is because you were so close to death and had a lot of phoenix tears and blood in your system at the time. Though truth be told, they are still in your system, along with some basilisk blood and venom. Actually, your body is now producing the phoenix tears and basilisk venom on its own. When you were "re-born" for lack of a better term, your body was made to incorporate those alien elements which had been in your bloodstream at the time of the burning."

"But what does it mean for me?" Harry asked.

"Well, you'll probably take on some of those creatures' abilities. For example, I can already say that you have a fast healing rate and perfect vision thanks to Fawkes."

For the first time since waking up, Harry became aware that he wasn't wearing his glasses. He had just assumed that they were on since he could see.

"Thankfully you don't have the basilisk's deadly stare though," Dumbledore continued. "Your magical strength and potential have probably increased as well. As for anything else, I don't really know. I'm afraid you'll have to find out on your own."

Harry sat in shock. He couldn't believe that he had experienced a phoenix burning day, or that he now had elements of a phoenix and a basilisk in his body permanently.

"There is going to be a feast later in celebration of the basilisk being defeated and the victims waking up from being petrified. Madam Pomphrey has cleared you to go. Until then I suggest you try some simple spells and other common activities and take note of any changes you notice. I'm afraid I must take my leave now, but I'll see you at the feast."

That said, the Headmaster scooped Fawkes back into his arms and exited the hospital wing, leaving the flabbergasted boy behind him.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi had had many titles to his name over the years –the Copy Ninja, student, son of the White Fang, Copy-Cat Kakashi, genius, teammate, man of 1,000 justus, ANBU captain, eternal rival, etc. But now he had a new title to add to that list; sensei.

The last title was one Kakashi wasn't sure whether to be happy about or not. Like most jounin, he had had no desire to teach a genin team. They were the elite, the skilled and the proud. Most ninja who have an interest in teaching stay chunnin and teach at the academy. So when the time comes at the end of the academic year, and the Hokage asks for a list of volunteers to be jounin senseis...well it's usually rather lacking. He and others are usually forced to take on a team anyway. But thanks to the peaceful time and resulting large and healthy ninja population Konoha already had, they weren't _required _to take on their team if they had a problem with their students. This brought on the creation of the secondary genin exams; a test done by the jounin sensei which determined whether he/she would take on that team. Kakashi used the bell test – an exercise done by his sensei, his sensei's sensei, his sensei'sensei sensei, etc. to promote teamwork.

The masked-man still could hardly believe that after 7 – or was it 8? – failed potential genin teams, one finally passed. Granted they had failed at first, but they had eventually banded together as a team. And what a team it was.

First on the team, and the one he had been the least surprised to receive, was Uchiha Sasuke. As the last sharingan user in Konoha, Kakashi would be able teach the boy how to use his own sharingan when it manifested. Sasuke was considered a genius and the top rookie of the year. Though the boy wasn't jounin level or anything, he was high genin low chunnin level which was very good for being fresh out of the academy. He probably would have graduated early if the council and Hokage had let him. But in this age of peace where most academy graduates don't even get accepted by a jounin for additional training, there was no need to push or encourage children to grow up faster than necessary. (Naruto had been an exception to the rule since the council had hoped his failure from taking the test before he was ready would discourage him from being a ninja and Sarutobi just couldn't say no to the blond.) From Kakashi's own observations, Sasuke was rather self-absorbed and thought little of his teammates or anyone else. Almost all his thoughts centered around getting revenge on his brother, which was not very healthy and would probably prove to be a big problem later on. Hopefully the Uchiha wouldn't learn his lesson on what was truly important the hard way like Kakashi had.

Haruno Sakura was the sole kunoichi on the team. She was from a civilian family and portrayed a startling fan-girl mentality and uselessness. If she hoped to survive, let alone get far as a ninja, she'd have to shape up fast. Traditionally, the rookie of the year was placed with the dead last and a middle of the road student. Kakashi supposed that she was to be the middle of the road student in the trio, but instead of being average across the board, she had been highest in the class (even higher than Sasuke) in written material while her practical skills were the worst Kakashi had ever seen in a ninja. For now her teammates could pick up the slack until she improved, but once they got to harder missions she would have to be able to hold her own.

Uzumaki Naruto took the place of dead last, (or dobe as the Uchiha calls him) but only because of his supposed fail. The truth was that the blonde was anything but deadlast. He may not be the sharpest kunai in Konoha, but he was determined, could suppress his chakra and sneak around like a high level chunnin, and could perform a forbidden technique with ease. And when Kakashi had indulged in a small spar with the kid, some of those moves he had recognized as being the same ones used by his self-proclaimed eternal rival, Maito Gai.

But it wasn't Naruto's skills or reputation that gave Kakashi pause. Kakashi may not like to admit it, but he knew that he wasn't the healthiest mentally; he constantly lived in the past and picked up habits and demeanours not his own in order to live for both himself and his self-sacrificing dead teammate, Uchiha Obito. It was for that reason that he had thought that having Sasuke on his team would have encouraged the biggest rush of bittersweet memories. But that was not the case.

11 years ago when the Kyuubi had been sealed, Kakashi hadn't cared one whit about the boy the demon had been sealed in. He had been more concerned with the deaths of his two remaining teammates – Rin, who he had _promised _Obito he would look after, and Minato-sensei, the man who had raised him since his father's passing when Kakashi had only been six years old. Not only that, but Kushina, Minato's secret wife and another precious person to him, had died as well as the unborn child she was carrying. Too lost in his grief he had not cared about the one his sensei had chosen to bear the burden that was the Kyuubi, who Sarutobi-sama had named Naruto, the name that Minato and Kushina had agreed on for their baby with the surname Uzumaki; so that Minato's wife and child could live on in some form.

Instead, Kakashi had joined the ANBU and asked for assignments which took him as far away from Konoha and for as long as possible. It took him 5 years to realize that in his effort to forget everything painful he was losing himself as he completed the bloody soul-destroying assignments day-in and day-out. He quit the ANBU and became a regular jounin. By then Konoha wasn't in any wars and so jounin instructors could be pickier about the students they took – so even though he had been requested to take on a team each year, he never had. Years went by and still Kakashi never thought about the Kyuubi host. Until he had been assigned to him and his presence had been like a slap to the face.

Sarutobi had told him that Minato's child had died. That it had been a no-name orphan who held the Kyuubi, probably a son of tourists or travellers who had been at the wrong place at the wrong time. Kakashi had had no reason to doubt him; the real Naruto hadn't been due for another two months when the Kyuubi had attacked and if Kushina had died, chances were that there were no medics to reach her in time to save her baby. But once he had set his eye on the kid, there was no mistaking it – he was the real Naruto. Others could have dismissed his similarity to the Yondaime due to their unfamiliarity with him, or because they hadn't known he had been an expectant father. But Kakashi knew; Sarutobi had lied. That was Minato's son. He attacked like Kushina – bold and brave, thinking more with his heart than his head. He looked like Minato – he even had the same habit of holding the back of his neck when sheepish or embarrassed.

Kakashi wasn't sure whether to be mad at the Sandaime or not – the lengths that the old man went to protect Naruto was admirable, but he had also deprived people like Kakashi and Jiraiya who would have taken care of Naruto for being Minato's son the chance to make Naruto's childhood a better one.

But on the other hand, Naruto was still living in the Kyuubi's shadow; it wouldn't have been fair to make him live in his father's shadow as well. And Kakashi was still unsure how to act around the kid – everything about him reminded the masked-man of painful memories. Sasuke didn't even do that despite being an Uchiha – his mannerisms and even looks were very different from Obito, so it was very hard to confuse them. Therefore Kakashi felt comfortable teaching Sasuke, would even enjoy it since it felt like he was helping the Uchiha in Obito's memory. But Naruto, Kakashi couldn't help the pain in his heart each time he looked into those earnest blue eyes. He wanted to help him for Minato's and Kushina's sake, but he also couldn't help the pain he felt in his presence.

"Ah! My Eternal Rival! I heard you have finally accepted a group of youthful students to impart your wisdom and flames of passion to!"

Kakashi didn't have to guess who it was as green spandex and sparkly teeth filled his vision. "I suppose you could say that."

"Grr! Again with that hip attitude!" Gai complained as Kakashi showed no enthusiasm about his great and mighty new role as a teacher.

Gai was one of the few who had constantly volunteered to get a genin team. He believed in the importance of guiding the next generation and imparting all your knowledge to them. Because of the enthusiasm he shows while teaching, many would be surprised to know that besides Kakashi, Gai had failed the most teams of prospective students.

When people thought of Maito Gai, they thought things like eccentric, power, green spandex, speed, bushy eyebrows, taijutsu, enthusiasm, unrealistic goals/punishments, strength, and shiny teeth. But besides taijutsu, Gai's next area of specialty was genjutsu. Gai, the man who always spoke in exclamations a decibel too loud, was practically a master in the subtle art of illusion.

It was this that made his genin test so hard. Gai, above everything, valued determination and self-discipline. He didn't care about things like bloodlines, chakra potential or test scores. He wanted students who would try their hardest day-in and day-out. So to test that, he would start the test at five in the morning. If they were late, they failed. He started things off with three quick one-on-one spars to judge their fighting styles and strengths and weaknesses. Then he spent the whole day doing exercises and drills like push-ups and sit-ups, throwing practices, jutsus, and everything they'd have already done in the academy, with one more session of three one-on-one sparring. He didn't care how well they performed each task, only that they performed each one with full intensity and vigour. For the few teams that have lasted that long, there was one final test of one-on-one sparring. But unlike the previous two times, Gai would start using his genjutsu skills in this one.

As the leading taijutsu master of Fire Country, Gai has tried just about every type of style, drill and exercise at least once. There wasn't an ache or pain the human body could have that the man hadn't experienced. And that is what made him such a successful genjutsu user. He didn't bother tricking you with traps, fear or other regular methods. He tricked your body into thinking his punch hit a bit harder than in reality, that your miss-step caused a twisted ankle, that you now had a Charlie horse in your thigh from pushing yourself so hard. Basically Gai used his superior knowledge of training and fighting injuries to make his opponent think he/she was more tired, more injured and more disadvantaged than he/she was.

So when Gai fought for the last time with his prospective students, he would purposely make them more tired and frustrated, goading them in all ways except vocally to give up rather than stay with him and do this again and again, day-in and day-out. And all had given up, never regretting their choice of staying at the academy for another year or whatever else they did rather than staying a student of Maito Gai. Last year was the first time Gai had a team who hadn't quit on him. And the green-clad man still had them working just as hard as that first day a year later.

"Do you know who took on a team this year?" Kakashi asked his fellow jounin.

"Hai; Asuma-kun and Kurenei-chan have passed their teams. Asuma has the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio and Kurenei has the tracking team with the Hyuuga heiress and the Auburame heir, as well as Inuzuka Tsume's son." Gai replied.

"Hmmmm." Kakashi thought; those were all new graduates. It seemed that none of the returning genins from previous years made it; which was too bad because some of them were getting on in years, some as old as 17. And while he was surprised that such a new jounin like Kurenai got a team, he figured she was one of the few who had actually volunteered to take on a team.

"Just wait my eternal rival!" Gai announced. "There is nothing more youthful than fanning the flames of passion in others, than helping our adorable students reach the-"

Kakashi let his friend babble about the excitement that is teaching as he prayed that passing team 7 hadn't been a mistake.

* * *

Harry made his way through Diagon Alley with a smile. He was freer than he ever had been before, and was relishing every second of it. The second he stepped off the Hogwarts Express Mr. Weasley had been there to greet him with the news that the Dursleys had been charged with negligence and that besides paying heavy fines, they were under constant supervision by child services who were waiting for one wrong move in order to take Dudley away from them as well. The only good thing for the Dursleys is that it forced Dudley into a healthier lifestyle and he now had a far better chance to make it to his 20th birthday without suffering a heart attack.

The courts had been leery of granting a 12 year old the rights and freedoms of a full grown adult, but they had allowed the private school he attends take responsibility for him. It had been easier than Harry had thought it'd be to convince Professor McGonagall to fill out the necessary forms to keep him away from the Dursleys forever (though she had insisted that he stay at The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley for the summer months and periodically send her letters to check in).

So now Harry was officially a ward of Hogwarts – specifically McGonagall's ward since she was his Head of house – and life was good for the green-eyed boy. He gave Tom the owner of the Leaky Cauldron a small nod of acknowledgment, but before he could climb up the stairs to his room, Tom stopped him.

"There's someone here to see you in the backroom. I'll be along in a bit to get you food and drinks." The pub owner said as he ushered Harry to the backroom.

Harry didn't know who wanted to meet with him, but he trusted Tom enough that it wasn't somebody who wished him ill. His question was answered when he opened the door to discover the table occupied by Hogwart's headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.

"Professor?" Harry asked, wondering what the Headmaster wanted to speak to him about during the summer.

"Ah, Mr. Potter!" Dumbledore smiled jovially. "I had heard you were staying here and thought I ought to visit."

Harry was pretty sure that the headmaster didn't make it a common occurrence to speak to students often, or even at all, during the summer months.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Harry asked, wanting to cut to the chase.

Dumbledore smiled at the blunt request before deciding to comply with Harry's unsaid wish. "Nothing quite like that, I assure you. I had just wanted to ask why you left the Dursleys – they are your family after all. I think that all things considered, it would be best to go back to them."

Harry stared at the Headmaster incredulously. The Dursleys had abused him! If it weren't for his relatives' superb lawyer, his aunt and uncle would be doing jail time! Dumbledore made it sound like it was just a simple misunderstanding, as if Harry had run away because they wouldn't buy him the toy he wanted.

"I hate the Dursleys. I have no wish to return to them." Harry stated bluntly.

"Surely you don't mean that," Dumbledore countered, a bit shocked at the matter-of-fact pronouncement. "I know that sometimes our family can anger and upset us, but I'm sure you would miss them and they you if one of you died. I think it's best to go talk to your relatives and work it out. You are far too young to be living on your own like this."

Harry stared at the Headmaster trying to figure out what to say. As much as he respected and admired the Headmaster for his abilities, intelligence, and past deeds, he didn't think it was any of the Headmasters business to speak about the relationship between himself and the Dursleys. And he was almost a hundred percent certain that none of them would spare any tears over his death – Vernon had certainly threatened to drop him off in the middle of nowhere for wild animals to eat often enough.

"There's a restraining order against the Dursleys; they can't come within 50 meters of me even if they wanted to. And trust me, they don't want to. And for that matter, I don't want them anywhere near me either. Maybe in a few years I'll go back and try to talk to them, as an adult to adults. But not now or any time soon." Harry said in a tone which said he wasn't changing his mind on the matter.

Dumbledore sighed in disappointment. "I'm sorry that the Dursleys hadn't treated you as they ought to have, but they are still your family and you are safest in their care. There are blood wards around Privet Drive which ensure your safety, but here you are alone. I have to ask you once again to reconsider your choice of leaving your relatives."

"I'm afraid that I once again choose to stay here – there may not be any blood wards, but I'm surrounded by capable witches and wizards. Tom, Mr. Fortescue and Mr. Blotts often check up on me throughout the day and I still have no reason to believe that I am in so much danger that I require to be under lock and key." Harry replied, unsubtly referring to the fact that Dumbledore had still refused to tell him why Voldemort had been after Harry so long ago.

Dumbledore looked torn for a moment, and just when Harry was beginning to hope that he would find out the details of the night when his parents had died, Dumbledore stood up.

"I'm saddened that you refuse to give your relatives a second chance, but if that's what you want I am unwilling to force you. Continue sending letters to Professor McGonagall about your well-being, and I'll see you in September." The aging man spoke.

Harry gave a non-committal answer and watched Dumbledore leave. While he was annoyed that Dumbledore was still keeping things secret from him, Harry was glad to get his way with the Dursleys. The black-haired boy resolutely shook off his negative feelings and thoughts about the Dursleys that Dumbledore's visit had stirred up. He was free of them forever, and was having the time of his life living in Diagon Alley. There was no use dwelling in the past when you could live in the present.

* * *

In the shinobi world, one of the most important rules is that a ninja should show no emotions. In actuality, only 1% of ninjas actually follow that rule. It's true that the majority of shinobi learn to rid themselves of a lot of emotions – like compassion, kindness, selflessness. Specifically when on a mission or in the midst of a battle. But almost all ninjas still show anger, bloodlust, and above all, pride. Whether it's pride in their skills, village, comrades, clan, or some combination of the above, shinobi as a whole were very prideful beings. And prideful beings do not like to be shown up or beaten. Therefore there was a small unsaid exercise which the majority of the hidden villages (including Konoha) practiced which helped more people get revenge and closure than there should have been.

Depending on the criminal and offense, the ANBU and jounin of the torture and interrogation unit will unofficially allow the victims time with the perpetrator to get closure after the ANBU had finished with them. The prisoner was always unconscious and bound and weakened (by the interrogation which had happened earlier, a small dose of drugs, and a bit of starvation) for when the 'visitor(s)' came. The prisoner's next meal, some personal effects, and some interrogation tools are left out for the avenger to use as they see fit. The slighted person was allowed to wake the prisoner, talk to them and do minor damage but if they took things too far or something, ANBU, which were unofficially watching over the procedures to catch any last minute confessions through goads and taunts of the prisoner to the victim, would step in.

So when Naruto conveniently overheard two ninja talk about how his ex-sensei would be spending his last night in a cell in the T&I department before being shipped off to the Konoha penitentiary; well Naruto knew that it was code for 'open season on Mizuki'.

Which is what brought the blond haired boy to the traitor's cell in the middle of the night. The genin wasn't surprised that Iruka wasn't there to hand out his own justice (even though Naruto was confident that the chunnin would have gotten the same "message") – the scarred teacher was way too forgiving and soft-hearted for that. Naruto was also sure that Iruka wouldn't have come to stop him, believing that either Naruto wouldn't be notified or would completely miss the subtle message and what it meant. That was fine with the blond; he preferred it this way.

Naruto unhurriedly unpacked his supplies, humming tunelessly all the while. He glanced at the unconscious man with an evil grin; though it would be long and tedious work, it would be well worth it.

* * *

It seemed like a scene from an old horror movie – it was the middle of the night in an old decrepit manor. And Frank knew that he had never been more afraid in all his long years as he was now; even when he had fought in the Second World War never had his mortality been so clear to him. He found himself wishing that he had just stayed at his humble home with a hot pad to ease his stiff knee instead of investigating the weird light within the abandoned Riddle Manor. But it was too late – two whispered words from the creature before him and a flash of green light dominated the room. Frank Bryce fell over, dead.

.....

Hundreds of kilometers away, Harry Potter turned over in his bed and remained blissfully asleep.

* * *

Ibiki entered the office with the familiar sight of his second in command, Mitarashi Anko, laughing her head off and the sounds of someone screaming in anguish.

"What did you do this time, and to whom?"

"Oh, it wasn't me this time, I swear it!"

Ibiki just raised an eyebrow.

"Honestly!" Anko retorted. "You know me; if I was responsible for those lovely screams I'd definitely be taking the credit right now."

Ibiki nodded his agreement; the purple-haired kunoichi had no problems admitting and showing off her sadistic streak. "So who did it?"

Anko just gave a predatory grin. "It seems that the younger generation is shaping up to be quite an interesting one; a little gaki fresh out of the academy did this."

"You don't say." Ibiki replied raising an eyebrow to show his interest and indicate he wanted to hear more. The only kid who would have been given permission to extract some revenge last night had been Uzumaki Naruto after his former sensei had tried to kill him. Usually the younger ninjas either don't pick up on the invitation for retribution, or they let their emotions get the best of them and do something drastic, leading to them being escorted out by the watchful ANBU minutes after arriving.

"Yup! That little gaki has a mind of a genius!" Anko said. "You know the Aburame's special brand of itching powder?"

Ibiki just gave a look; of course the torture and interrogation squad knew of that itching powder. It was a dried secretion found in certain insects the Aburame clan were trying to breed with their kikai bugs. It was poisonous to its prey and predators, but to humans it just caused itching and irritation –but to a severe degree. When they had first been testing out the potency of the powder, one prisoner had sworn to gouge his own eyes out rather than put up with it for another minute. It sensitized the skin and made it feel like it was actually on fire (there were enough people who had experienced both to attest to that). Touching the affected area only made it worse, running water helped to ease the pain but once removed it hurt just as much as before (even if you were still wet). The stuff was like glitter – it got everywhere and stayed on you for ages no matter how long you spend showering. The powder had also become known to the public at large since on top of being a handy interrogation tool, the Aburame's actually sold a far more diluted version as a prank item in specialty stores.

"I don't know how he got a hold of it, but Uzumaki was using the pure stuff, not the kiddie shit they sell at the stores." Anko stated.

'Ah, that would explain the high pitched screams' Ibiki thought. The stuff sold to the public did nothing more than cause irritating itching for about half an hour, but would never produce the type of screams Mizuki was making.

"But that's not all of it," Anko continued, bouncing in her seat in giddiness due to the story of revenge, torture and pain she was sharing. "See, he coated every inch of Mizuki's toilet paper in the itching powder, and then mixed in a ton of the strongest laxatives money will buy in the traitor's food. When Mizuki woke up, he knew the food had been tainted but had little choice but to eat it or die of starvation; and this is the end result." The sadistic ninja finished with flair, indicating to the crying and screaming traitor using his cell's toilet.

Ibiki was impressed despite himself – it was simple and slightly childish, but it had no lasting consequences and the kid didn't even touch Mizuki so the ANBU watching over last night would have had no reason to stop him. Yet despite that, it was one of the worst punishments ever doled out by the unwritten revenge system Ibiki had ever seen.

"You still haven't heard the best part," Anko stated gleefully. "In the traitor's rush to use the facilities, he was trying to run and pull down his pants at the same time, which made him trip and knock over a lot of things – including a roll of toilet paper which landed in his lap, on his bare bits."

Ibiki hid a wince at that – he changed his mind, this was definitely the most painful of all the revenges he had ever seen. The head interrogator made a mental note to keep an eye and ear out for the kid; if he could off something like this as a fresh genin, imagine what he could do in a couple of years.

* * *

Naruto had always dreamed of being a ninja – being the Hokage specifically – for as long as he could remember. He had worked none-stop towards that goal no matter what obstacles came in his path; i.e. sabotaging instructors, crappy chakra control, low attention span, etc. And he could hardly remember a happier moment than when he had first worn his hitai-ite. But now, now he realized that there was bad that came with the good; D-rank missions (shudder). The bane of every genin. They were boring, time consuming with little to no redeeming qualities no matter what jounin instructors said about teamwork. And as a newly-graduated genin, Naruto and his team were stuck with them.

A typical day for Naruto consisted of getting up at five in the morning and meeting Bushy-Brows and Bushy-Brows' sensei for some taijutsu training if they weren't on a mission. Gai-sensei was always thrilled to see "the ever youthful Naruto" come join them when not even Lee's teammates would join the two taijutsu enthusiasts for their early morning training. At eight the spandex clad males would go to meet the rest of the team and Naruto would take a nap. He'd be up again for eleven, when he'd eat brunch and then go to meet his own team. Depending on how late Kakashi was, he'd try and make conversation with his two teammates (Sakura in particular), do some drills that Bushy-brows' sensei showed him or on the rare occasion spar with Sasuke. Then Kakashi-sensei would arrive, they'd do a D-rank mission or two before returning to their training grounds. Kakashi-sensei would then work with them on different skills like making a fire while on a mission so it makes the least amount of smoke and provides the most heat as possible, or working on throwing kunai at moving objects, or recognizing a genjutsu. (Naruto was upset that they hadn't actually learned a jutsu from Kakashi yet). Then it would be time for supper; sometimes they ate as a team and sometimes not. Naruto would then have the evening to himself. Generally he would do his shopping, some reading and a few more drills before going to bed.

Well, that wasn't completely accurate. After he had realized that he got the memories of his clones from the kage bunshin no jutsu, Harry insisted that he ought to make the most out of them (especially since he wasn't allowed to use them for his team D-rank missions since Kakashi said it wasn't fair if the clones did all the work). So before Naruto goes to meet his team each day, he would make a bunch of shadow clones as well. Some would request D-rank missions, some would read, others would go out to practice various jutsu or techniques he wanted to try or perfect. None would work on taijutsu since there was no point in having a shadow clone practice physicall skills – although they could memorize different moves and experience what felt best for the original, they couldn't build muscle mass or transfer muscle memory to the original. This let him get two or three days worth of training and income in one day.

But today Bushy-Brows and his team were on a mission escorting a travelling salesman and they wouldn't be back for another week at least. This meant that Naruto slept in and practiced his taijutsu at 8 o'clock instead. He had just finished practicing, but now he was bored and he still had some time he had to meet his team. He could start doing a D-rank or read or something, but why bother do the tasks he would send out his clones to do while he met with his team?

The solution came barrelling into him, followed by its two friends.

"Naruto-nii-san, Naruto-nii-san!" the familiar voice of Konohamaru yelled out. "Come play ninja with us!"

Sakura and Sasuke never understood how Naruto could be bothered to play ninja with the Konohamaru Corps; especially now that Naruto really was a ninja. But Konohamaru was like a little brother to Naruto and he enjoyed playing with them; especially now because as a ninja Naruto could no longer continue pulling his own pranks. So lately Naruto has been carefully moulding the boy as his successor, and so far the "honourable grandson" was doing admirably.

"Okay!" Naruto agreed excitedly. He shot his eager audience a look before starting. "Today we will work on stealth and teamwork. I'm gonna teach you a new jutsu, and you guys will have to successfully use this jutsu on as many people as possible. You get one point per civilian, three points per genin, five points per chunnin and ten points per jounin. You get double the amount if you get away without them noticing about the jutsu until you're gone. You're allowed to provide distractions for your teammates so they can escape, or so you can provide an alibi. We'll work on the new jutsu until I have to meet my team, and then I'll leave a few henged shadow clones to watch your progress. If you guys get 25 points or more I'll treat you to some Ichikaru's ramen."

"Yay! A new jutsu and some ramen! Naruto-nii-san is the best!" Konohamaru exclaimed.

Naruto brought the three academy students to a more secluded setting to teach them the jutsu. It was originally a spell from the book '_Curses and Counter-curses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying, and Much, Much More)'_. While the spells from that book hadn't been high on the list of priority for spells that Harry and Naruto experimented with to make the equivalent hand seals for and perform wandlessly, they had figured out a few of them. Such as the _pes gluten*_ spell – it basically stuck the victim's foot to the ground as if glued there. Depending on how much magic/chakra you put into it, the longer their foot is stuck. Naruto would teach them to have it stuck for a few minutes.

A little over an hour later, the three academy students finally got the hang of the spell and where ready to go. Naruto left some shadow clones to tail them and keep track of their score before waving goodbye and wishing them luck as he left to meet up with his team. He was so lucky to have Konohamaru in his life – now he still got the joy of orchestrating new pranks and seeing the resulting mayhem without taking any of the blame.

* * *

Harry looked through his things one more time. He had been very busy this summer. His emancipation proved to be a real blessing – even if you omit the fact that it got him away from the Dursleys. With the whole summer to do as he pleased, Harry started to prepare for the possibility of being stranded in Naruto's world.

The first thing he bought was clothes; not a whole wardrobe or anything (he was a pre-teen boy after all and had little to no interest in fashion). He just bought the necessities – a few pairs of pants, shirts, sweaters, socks and underwear. Just so he could have clothes that fit. Another reason he didn't splurge on clothes was because he didn't expect them to last too long; he was a growing boy after all. That and if he did end up in Naruto's world it would be far better to get clothes there. Not only would it allow him to blend in more, but they designed clothes mainly for durability and free-movement for fighting unlike here where no one was expected to frequently fight life or death battles.

Next, Harry had commissioned three trunks. Each was five times larger on the inside than the dimensions should be, were spelled to weigh only a small fraction of their actual weight and could shrink on command. It was the best combination which would suit his needs and that would work (you can only use so many enchantments on an object before it backfires or collapses under the strain). Thankfully Naruto learned (and then taught Harry) how to make a sealing scroll so that the number of things Harry could bring would be close to unlimited. It was also useful to know since shrunk items can't stay shrunk within a trunk/bag spelled bigger on the inside. But oddly enough one could safely put an endless bag within a space-spelled trunk with no problems. He knew that because he had also bought a bottomless sack. The basic rule was as long as the object naturally fit inside the mouth of the bag (so no shrinking charms) then it could be stored inside regardless of how long it was or how many objects were already inside it. Unfortunately, it did little to ease the weight of the objects inside. He had decided to store his brooms, invisibility cloak and photo album in there.

As for the trunks, one he filled with gold, silver and other precious jewels from the Potter and Black vaults; there was no point in packing muggle currency when precious metals and stones worked as currency everywhere. The next trunk was dedicated to books (or at least to sealing scrolls full of books); over the course of the summer he had made multiple trips to Flourish and Blotts and bought a copy of almost every book they had. There was still a bit of space left , but that would be taken care of once Harry could start copying some of the books from Hogwarts. The third trunk was currently empty but for some potions ingredients and a simple potions kit. But the object Harry truly planned to fill that trunk with was at Hogwarts.

He'd also bought some enchanted daggers and holsters down in Knocturn alley while under a henge – no more kitchen knives for him! They were made equally for effectiveness and decoration (which of course cut down on usefulness), but they did have some nice runes which ensured that it didn't rust or dull. He would let Naruto study them and hopefully he would be able to reproduce them and then have to spend less money buying and maintaining his kunai. The multiple books on runes and arithmacy among his giant collection should help with that.

There were other things he had considered getting; extra invisibility cloaks, artifacts, and other such objects but had ultimately decided that the cost hadn't been worth it. As great as invisibility cloaks were for sneaking around at Hogwarts, they would be next to useless in Naruto's world due to the fact that they impede movement and don't hide any noise or footprints. And he didn't have time to research and find which magical items would be worth buying just in case he could use it in the other world. He had also considered foregoing brooms; they were easily broken since all magic that went into it was for speed and comfort of the rider rather than durability or safety. But then Naruto convinced him to splurge a little and Harry bought two firebolts (the latest – and most expensive – model of racing brooms), and three cheaper cleansweeps to experiment on to see if they could eventually recreate a broom on their own. The brooms had cost about half of the total money spent.

Harry had also put his affairs in order and made a will. Though with all the stuff he'd bought and the gold in the trunk, Harry had pretty much emptied out the Black's fortune (which had been about 7 times as much as the Potter fortune) from Gringotts. All that was left to grant his friends and various charities when he left/died was a bit more than what had been the Potter fortune (which when split was still a decent amount, but wouldn't make any of them rich). But on the bright side, Harry and Naruto were set for life no matter where they ended up.

Harry nodded in satisfaction before shrinking his three new trunks and placing them in a small pocket he had made in every pair of boxers (he had learned how to sew as a necessity while with the Durleys). He didn't yet know what would and wouldn't be transported across dimensions, but he thought it prudent to keep the things he wanted with him at all times.

He still had his normal school trunk but it was mostly empty, filled only with Lockhart books, the potions set he'd use for school, the marauders' map (which he planned to give back to the Weasley twins), his school uniform, and the like. It would stay at the foot of the bed at Hogwarts like always to throw off any suspicion, and because there was no use in bringing an ordinary trunk with only a small space adjustment feature rather than buy another one (or three) with more space, spelled lighter and were more durable.

* * *

*I used an online translation to find out that "foot glued" is "pes gluten" in latin

A/N: Now that Sasuke and Sakura are going to be a part of the fic and I had just finished that argument with Dumbledore, I just want to mention something – this is not a bashing fic. No one will be bashed; not Saukra, not Dumbledore, not Sasuke, not Ron, etc. That doesn't mean that I'll skip over everyone's faults either – Ron will still be jealous, and as kickass as Sakura is post-timeskip, no can deny how useless and annoying she had been at first. But I won't make any of them hateful or sucky without reason.

**Q&A**

**Why does Naruto have a problem with the Henge? He had problems with the Bushin because he overpowered it, but not with Henge as far as I know...**

I made Naruto have difficulties with the henge so I could make sense of it in this story. In the anime he obviously changes physically, since Sasuke throws him as a shuriken. But at the same time, it's an E level jutsu and in other filler episodes they make a big deal out of a few individuals who can physically change themselves to look like anyone (which if the henge changes you physically, then anyone who had any ninja training could do it). And for an E level jutsu, it does a lot. So I figured that in this fic the regular henge is just an illusion technique which takes around the same amount of chakra as the bushin (they are both E level, so it should be the same difficulty) and Naruto being Naruto could play with it causing his henge to change physically.

**How come Harry didn't wake up from Frank Bryce's murder, like he did in the books? What was the point in that scene?**

Well, you guys haven't had the opportuniry to ask this one yet, but I thought I'd answer it anyway. In the books, Frank Bryce's murder was the first vision of Voldemort Harry had ever had. I can't remember if I mentioned it before or not (probably as a personal reply to a review or something), but way back when, in the first chapter, I had made the connection between Harry and Naruto become established _before _Naruto got the Kyuubi sealed within him or Harry became the Boy-Who-Lived. Though it probably didn't seem important then, the reason why I did that is because I wanted the link between Harry and Naruto to be stronger than the ones of Naruto with the Kyuubi or Harry with Voldemort. What does it mean in terms of the story – well, as you can see Harry and Voldemort won't have such an intense mind link. Harry's scar will still hurt in Voldemort's presence, but Harry won't be a radio tuned in to Voldemort's frequency and pick up emotions and visions from the guy. And Naruto will have a harder time than in canon bringing out and using the Kyuubi's chakra. So basically they'll have less influence from Voldemort and Kyuubi than in canon.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: I don't go into all the details of what happened in the wave country arc, but I assume the readers know it well enough to fill in the blanks.

Don't own anything. I realize it's been a while since I said that, so just to be safe – I **never **owned anything of the Naruto or Harry Potter franchises, and I don't make any money off of this. (Though it would be awesome if I did).

* * *

Generally right after the Welcoming Feast students go straight to bed. They've already had plenty of time on the train ride over and at the feast to talk and catch up with their friends, and afterward they were too full and tired to do much else but change into pyjamas and plop into bed. Tonight wasn't a regular night after the feast.

"So why exactly are we hosting the Tri-Wizarding Tournament if it hasn't been done in over a century?" Harry asked his friends as they ignored the general hubbub and buzzing atmosphere.

"It was a tournament between the three oldest Wizarding schools in Europe; Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. It was established long before flying brooms became common items and quidditch became a popular sport. It was a way for students to experience a different culture for a year as they visited the host school, establish international ties, and promote your own school to watching parents and the public in general who were invited to see the trials and outcomes of the tournaments. For each tournament a 'champion' is chosen to represent their school. The three champions compete in three different tasks determined by the three headmasters/headmistresses and two other none-partial judges to test the champions in different ways, such as their magical prowess, their quick thinking and their daring. But due to the high mortality rate, the tournament had been discontinued until now." Hermione said. Harry would bet that it her explanation was probably word for word from _Hogwarts: A History_.

"This year's gonna be so awesome!" Ron exclaimed. "Not only is the Tri-Wizarding Tournament going to be here, but our defence against the dark arts professor is Mad-Eye Moody! They say he was responsible for the vast majority of all the Death Eaters in Azkaban!"

"Yeah, but they also say he's not right in the head after all the stuff he's been through." Neville pointed out. "My Gran says that Moody's so paranoid he'll only drink from his private flask and he'll only talk to you after a thorough investigation to know that you are who you say you are."

"Well, I suppose you're right." Ron agreed. "My dad did tell me about this one time a witch snuck up behind him to wish him a happy birthday, and Mad-Eye hexed her so badly she had to stay at St. Mungo's for an entire month. And a few days ago my dad was called to his house 'cause he thought there was an intruder or something, but it was probably a stray cat if anything."

"How are we going to learn anything from someone who's so paranoid he'd hex his own shadow?" Harry asked with a frown. "He might've been an amazing auror, but that doesn't mean that he'd be a good teacher, or even in the right mind to teach. I don't want him attacking me just because he sees my wand drawn while we're practicing a spell in class."

"I'm sure it won't be that bad." Hermione said, not very convincingly. "Dumbledore wouldn't have hired him if he was a danger to the students."

The boys shared a look.

"What about Quirrel? He had bloody Voldemort at the back of his head."

Hermione pretended she hadn't heard and quickly changed the subject. "So what extra courses are you guys taking? I wanted to take them all but they wouldn't fit into my timetable, and so I decided on Ancient Runes, Arithmacy,-"

* * *

Naruto remembered how he'd been all but skipping on his way to the giant gates at Konoha's entrance at the start of this mission. For the first time in his life he had been leaving the village of his birth – for a C rank mission no less! But now, only a few days later, Naruto wasn't skipping. He was staring pensively into the fire as shadow clones set up a perimeter for his turn at guard duty.

Earlier that day the mission had revealed itself to be more than it seemed. They had originally been hired to protect a bridge builder and his supplies from thieves and bandits as he finished his bridge; a decent mission for newly graduated genins. It would have given them some experience in combat with foes that they should be able to easily overcome. Instead they found out that it wasn't civilians turned mercenaries that they were up against; it was other ninja. Other _higher ranked and more experienced _ninja.

Naruto grit his teeth just thinking about it. They had been ambushed by two hidden mist nuke-nins, and even though the blonde hadn't done too badly (he had some experience fighting a higher level ninja out to kill him thanks to Mizuki), he had been quickly overwhelmed. Of course, before he had time to think of a way to turn the situation around his "kind and caring" teammate just had to interfere and save the day.

"Stupid show-off." the blue-eyed genin grumbled. "I could've done it on my own without his help."

"Could you have?"

Naruto jumped at the sudden voice in his ear.

"Kakashi-sensei! Don't sneak up on people like that!" Naruto yelled as loud as he dared. He didn't want to wake Sakura-chan up. "It's not nice!"

"Well, since you are on guard duty I had thought you'd be more aware of your surroundings." Kakashi half scolded, half explained.

"I am being aware; or at least my shadow clones are. I didn't think I'd need to keep guard within the camp too!" Naruto defended.

"Settle down Naruto; you don't want to wake everybody up do you?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto grumbled some more, but did as asked.

"You shouldn't be angry at your teammate for saving you – that's why we are put into teams, to help each other. I expect you to help Sasuke and Sakura if they need it too." Kakashi said.

"I know!" Naruto replied. "Of course I'd help them; it's just that I'm sick of Sasuke always being the hero and always getting the spotlight! I'm a good ninja too!"

Kakashi sighed. "I don't doubt your abilities Naruto, but being a ninja isn't about jumping into the fray and being the hero. It's about completing your mission, helping your comrades and protecting Konoha. You shouldn't focus on how you are compared to Sasuke; you're both genins and have a long way to go still."

Naruto thought over what Kakashi said. Though he could see the truth in some of it, it left him wondering. Was that all a ninja was about – protecting your home and completing your mission? While he might agree with those goals he felt that there should be more to it than that.

"Anyway, I had come out to relieve you. The ninjas we had faced today were chunnins; next they'll be sending jounins so I want you as rested as possible. Go to bed." Kakashi ordered.

Naruto dismissed his clones and headed towards his sleeping bag, thoughts still on the conversation. As the blue-eyed genin started nodding off he resolved to think things through later; for now he needed to be rested in order to complete the mission.

* * *

September passed quickly, and even though there was still an entire month before the other schools arrived, everyone was still buzzing about the Tri-Wizarding Tournament. Harry could care less though – he had already experienced dangers beyond anything the champions would have to do. And any nagging thoughts about him somehow being thrown headfirst into the circus surrounding the event were calmed when it became general knowledge that only of age (so 17 year olds) could take part.

Harry was far more concerned about Naruto's mission and his own studies – and not the school related material. Like his little brother, Harry was making full use of the shadow clone jutsu. The jutsu made a physical clone of the user and evenly split the user's magic/chakra amongst the clones. Each clone had an imprint of the original's mind and personality; rather like a magical painting. The clone would stick around until it either ran out of magic/chakra, it was dispelled by the user, or it was "killed". Any leftover magic/chakra after the clone "died" or was dispelled would return along with its memories to the user and other clones. Due to the fact that you need a very high chakra/magical capacity to perform the technique, and that getting the sudden memories of the clones made the user at risk for brain damage, the jutsu was forbidden except to the elite Konoha ninja. While Harry and Naruto didn't worry about the amount of chakra they used, they (or at least Harry) did worry about the brain damage side effect. Therefore Harry and Naruto always used the dream scape as a sort of measuring tool; if they used too many clones than they wouldn't wake up there since their brains were too busy processing the information of the day, including the shadow clone information. By using no more than 10 shadow clones a day (though Naruto could use up to 15), they were still able to meet up in the dream scape every night and be assured that they could use the jutsu to its full potential without risk. And with time, their ability to deal with more shadow clones would increase until they could hopefully create a whole army with no ill effects.

On a typical day, Harry would leave one clone in bed as he got up each morning and do some taijutsu practice on the off chance that someone would wake up before he returned for a shower. He noticed that ever since his rebirth he had an easier time with it as his strength, endurance and speed seemed to increase. Harry figured that to the increase of magic in his blood and system, he unconsciously fed his limbs extra magic to increase his physical abilities - something most ninjas learn to do before they become chunnins. Harry still didn't know how to purposely feed his limbs magic though, but assumed that Naruto would teach him once the blonde knew.

Following his morning workout and breakfast, Harry went to class. But as he attended lessons he'd leave another two shadow clones (under various henges that they'd switch to and from throughout the day) to stay in the library, looking up information and copying down anything interesting for his private library. Another four clones would go down to the Chamber of Secrets; two would slowly and methodically strip and store the basilisk to fill his third trunk and the other two would work on making the appropriate hand-signs for spells or practice reducing the number of hand-signs/movements of already mastered spells/jutsus.

When his clones had first tried skinning the basilisk, they'd been devastated to discover that no blades or spells would cut the skin except the Gryffindor Sword – apparently because it had been goblin forged, which made it far superior to any metal made weapon a wizard could hope to create. Another kage bunshin, some spying, a henge, and a few shushin no jutsus later Harry had successfully stolen Gryffindor's Sword from Dumbledore's office and was ready to pack the basilisk – or at least the skin. Harry wanted to pack the fangs as well, but knew from experience that the standard sealing scrolls couldn't hold them; the basilisk venom melted through. But Harry had been able to dilute a small sample of venom enough to have some venom already packed. He didn't know what effects it would have since he couldn't test it on his clones due to them having the same immunity of basilisk venom as himself.

And if Pince caught the henged library clones and sent them to class, they'd go down to the Chamber to explore - so far they had found a potions lab where Slytherin must have practiced his more volatile experiments and Harry and his clones had reason to believe that Slytheirn's private study would be there somewhere as well.

Harry was glad to notice that even with six clones running around all day (sometimes even more), Harry still had enough magic to practice spells in class. All in all Harry thought it was a good system. Hopefully the rest of the school year passed as smoothly as the first month had.

* * *

Sasuke punched the ground in frustration, breaths coming in pants. He had been at this for _days _and yet he still hadn't managed to make it to the top of the stupid tree! The fact that he hadn't made it up yet wouldn't have bothered him so much except Sakura – the weakest of their team and an annoying fan-girl to boot – had made it all the way to the top on the second day. And now he was out of chakra and had to wait a bit before trying again. A thump and some swearing broke Sasuke out of his thoughts.

'At least the dobe is still at it too and further behind me.' Sasuke thought vindictively.

Sasuke watched Naruto try again and again to use his chakra to climb up the tree. Sasuke couldn't help but be impressed with the blonde's stamina even as he raged that Naruto was slowly but surely closing the gap between them. How could Naruto keep going for so long – he had barely taken any breaks in the past few days except to eat, sleep and ask Sakura for tips! Sasuke sat up with that revelation. Of course, that's how the dobe got so high, he had asked for tips! The black-haired boy cursed his pride for refusing to ask Sakura while she had still been here (she was responsible for guarding Tazuna with a still recovering Kakashi while Naruto and Sasuke trained). Sasuke stared at Naruto in thought before deciding that it would hurt his pride less to ask Naruto for the tips Sakura had given him than for Naruto to succeed in tree walking before he did.

"Hey Naruto, come here for a second!" the Uchiha commanded.

Naruto, who had rarely ever been addressed as Naruto by his teammate, decided to see what the other boy wanted.

"What'd you want teme?" Naruto asked as he made his way over to the other boy.

"I, uh, well Sakura gave you tips on tree walking didn't she?" Sasuke said more than asked. "What were they?"

Naruto felt a smile break out on his face as he realized the almighty Uchiha was asking for help.

"Are you saying you want me to help you?" Naruto teased.

Sasuke ignored the question as his frustration rose. "Look, are you going to tell me what Sakura said or what?"

"Nope." Naruto answered, thoroughly enjoying himself.

The dark-haired genin grunted in anger and frustration; why did Naruto have to be so annoying?! He just wanted to finish this stupid drill and be done with it, and yet the blonde still had to make things difficult at every turn.

"Come on Naruto," Sasuke said trying to convince his teammate. "Doesn't Kakashi always say to help your teammates? If you know how to do this you should share the information."

Naruto snorted. "That's a bit rich coming from you; when have you ever helped Sakura or me with our training?" The blond pointed out. In his experience, the Uchiha was more likely to point out how terribly they performed a task or how useless they were rather than help them improve.

Sasuke grit his teeth together – it's not his fault that he had no time for his teammates. If he ever wanted to one day kill his brother he needed to get strong fast, and every second spent coaching his teammates through basic skills was precious training time wasted. Naruto wouldn't understand the importance of his task though (not that it was his business anyway), so the black-haired boy would have to find another way to convince the blond into helping him.

"Fine, if you won't help me for the sake of teamwork at least do it for Tazuna; until we get this exercise down were stuck here practicing while the only thing keeping Tazuna from death is Sakura, who has the weakest combat skills out of all of us, and Kakashi, who is still suffering from chakra exhaustion."

Naruto frowned. "I guess you're right; the sharingan would've really tired Kakashi-sensei out after using it for so long from what I heard and it would be better to have more of us with Tazuna." The blonde conceded. "Okay, Sakura told me that first you have to concentra-"

But Naruto's instructions were cut off by the suddenly stiff and alert Uchiha. "What do you mean "from what you've heard"? What have you heard about Kakashi and the sharingan?" Sasuke demanded.

"What's your problem teme?" Naruto asked, angry that the other boy cut him off once he had decided to be nice. "Do you want to know what Sakura told me or what?"

Even though Sasuke had only talked to Naruto to know Sakura's hints, right now he couldn't care less about them. Ever since he had found out that their sensei had a sharingan eye, a doujutsu supposedly unique to the Uchiha clan, he had been dying to know the story behind it. Was Kakashi an Uchiha? If so, why hadn't Itachi killed him? Or why does he go by the surname Hatake? Or why hadn't Sasuke ever seen or heard of him before? And if Kakashi wasn't related to the Uchiha, how did he get the sharingan eye?

"You said you heard about Kakashi and his eye." Sasuke continued, ignoring Naruto's interruption. "What do you know about it? Is he an Uchiha? How did he get the eye?"

Naruto paused from his angry rebuttal when he realized how desperate his teammate sounded. Though the events of the Uchiha massacre had been hushed up as much as possible (it wouldn't do for Konoha's enemies to learn of their sudden decrease of some of their most powerful ninja especially by one of their own), the general story still got around eventually and by working in the Hokage tower for most of his life, Naruto heard more about it than most.

He suddenly realized that Sasuke must've been hit really hard by the death of his family, and forgotten empathy that disappeared each time Sasuke acted like an arrogant jerk surged up within Naruto with the reminder that the other boy had also experienced the pain of loneliness for much of his life as well.

"You already know that I worked at the Hokage tower since I was a kid, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yes." Sasuke replied shortly, impatient to find out what he wanted to know.

"Well I overheard some jounin talking about Kakashi-sensei. Apparently when he was a kid during the Konoha-Iwa war, he had been on a team with an Uchiha. During a mission Kakashi's real eye got cut out and the Uchiha had been mortally wounded. The Uchiha's last wish was to give Kakashi his own eye as a replacement for the one he had lost, and their teammate, who had been training as a medic-nin, transferred it. So now Kakashi has a permanent sharingan eye, but since he's not really an Uchiha the eye takes up a lot more chakra than it would for a real Uchiha using the sharingan and Kakashi can't turn the sharingan on and off either, which is why he keeps it covered unless he's battling a high level opponent like Zabuza." Naruto explained.

Sasuke sat back to process the information. No wonder Kakashi had always stressed teamwork if that's the type of team he had had. Sasuke couldn't imagine giving his eye to Naruto – growing up he had been taught that the sharingan was sacred. Itachi had been considered more of a prodigy within the clan for unlocking it at the age of 7 than making ANBU captain at the age of 13.

The Uchiha's fists clenched; how was it that a non-Uchiha could master the sharingan while Sasuke, the last true Uchiha, hadn't even developed it yet?! How was he ever to defeat his brother if he kept lagging behind like this? He was already 12 years old for goodness sake!

"Hey, calm down teme." Naruto spoke. "You'll get your sharingan soon enough. And then when you do Kakashi-sensei can teach you how to use it. Forget about it for now, and let's climb these stupid trees; I want to get to try and reach the top before suppertime. So, do you still want to know Sakura's tips or what?"

Sasuke was silent this time as Naruto revealed the tips for mastering the tree-climbing exercise and soon enough both boys were running up and down slowly getting higher and higher. The dark-haired boy spared his energetic teammate a glance as he fell back to the forest floor, thinking over the conversation that had just taken place, the improvements Naruto was making and the way the blond had figured out how to save the day in their first battle against Zabuza.

'Maybe Naruto isn't all that annoying...sometimes...'

* * *

Haku shook his head as he left the hideout; Zabuza-sama was so stubborn! If he had let Haku's trained hands pull out the senbon used to put the swordsman in the death-like state than he could have been up and about by now. But no, instead the man just had to do everything himself and due to his rough treatment he further aggravated the damaged nerves and muscles, causing his recuperation to take longer than need be.

The effeminate teenager kept a sharp eye out for a certain plant which would help Zabuza heal faster; the faster Zabuza healed, the faster they finished their assignment, and the quicker their mission was completed, the quicker they could get paid and leave the area. Any longer and the mist hunter nins might get wind of their location and come after them again. And besides, Haku didn't trust Gato or his men to not take advantage of his master's apparent weakness.

If only Tazuna hadn't hired ninja to protect him; namely the copy-cat Kakashi. The others were merely genin and would be easy enough to deal with, but the masked-nin was world renown for his skills. Or better yet, if only they were allowed to destroy the bridge instead of assassinating the bridge builder. One good technique or a few dozen exploding notes was all that was needed, but Gato wanted to make himself Wave country's daimaiyo, and so he was careful not to destroy any of the country's resources (both man-made and natural) as he set to monopolize the economy until they were forced to accept his rule. He hadn't even wanted to kill Tazuna, but the man was adamant in working against Gato, so the business man had just waited until the older man was almost finished his bridge before he sent out assassins. It didn't matter if the last few meters of the bridge were of lesser quality, at least most of it would serve Gato well in his administration. It was too bad that Gato hadn't hired Zabuza and Haku until after Tazuna had reached Konoha though; it would've been easy to pick off the old man while he had been alone and travelling.

Haku paused in his herb gathering when he caught sight of bright orange. Making his way over to the sleeping figure, he recognized the boy as one of Kakashi's genin students. He must have been training last night and fell asleep during a break or something. How foolish of Kakashi to let his students out alone when he had reason to believe that Zabuza was not only alive, but had a skilled accomplice. And that's not even mentioning the horde of mercenaries also in Gato's employ. Had Haku been a regular ninja, he would have killed the boy where he lay to save himself and Zabuza the trouble of doing it later. But Haku had seen too much hate and bloodshed in his life to seek more when there were ways around it, so with a sigh at his own weakness Haku shook the orange-clad genin to wake him up.

"Huh? Whozzit?" Naruto asked groggily at the unfamiliar face.

Haku giggled. It had been a long time since he had seen someone as innocent as this boy; someone who didn't wake up the moment you got within 3 meters of them and who didn't have an ingrained reflex to attack/defend upon waking.

"You were sleeping in the woods. " Haku replied. "You shouldn't do that; you'll get sick."

"Oh." The boy replied with a blush, holding the back of his neck in an endearing gesture. "Thanks for waking me up miss! I can't sleep all day if I want to get stronger!"

"Stronger?" Haku asked amused. "What for?"

"So I can be the greatest ninja in my village!" Naruto declared boastfully. "I'm going to make everyone recognize me and my greatness!"

Then Haku caught it – the gleam in the boy's eyes that spoke of loneliness and pain. The one that told a story of persecution, and fear, and hunger. His breath got caught in his lungs as he realized that this seemingly innocent boy had survived a similar childhood. But how could that be? How could anyone who had lived as they had be able to put down his guard in front of a stranger? How could he be so open and genuine? Haku was only able to be like that around Zabuza who he loved and trusted implicitly; everywhere else he just acted carefree and nice, all the while ready to defend himself and his master to the death at the smallest provocation.

"Is that the only reason?" Haku asked, feeling infinitely closer to the younger boy.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, unclear as to what the pretty teenager was asking.

"Is that your only reason to get stronger; to gain recognition?" Seeing that the blond still didn't understand what he was asking, Haku decided to make himself clear. "Are you striving to reach your goal for someone else, or yourself?"

Naruto thought about the question for a moment. His first inclination was to say himself obviously, he had always wanted to be the Hokage for as long as he could remember. But he also knew that as much as he wanted the recognition and approval of the villagers, he'd rather take the position so he could protect his precious people and his home.

"Both, I guess." Naruto replied. "I want to be strong to get recognition and to protect my precious people."

Haku smiled in delight. He really liked this boy. It was too bad that they were on opposite sides. "So you understand." The dark-haired boy stated.

"Understand what?" Naruto asked. He didn't understand this girl; she switched topics faster than he could follow.

"You understand true strength only comes from the wish to protect someone you cherish." Haku replied.

Naruto thought back to his precious people and the battles against Mizuki and Zabuza, where he had defeated opponents far more skilled due to his resolve and desperation to save his teammates and Iruka. "Yeah, I understand."

"Good." Haku replied, standing up to leave. "That means you will definitely become strong."

Naruto just watched the girl leave, still a bit confused with the encounter. But just as he was about to shake it off and go back to training the girl turned back.

"By the way; I'm a boy."

When Sasuke came by a few minutes later looking for the blond, Naruto was still in shock.

* * *

Kakashi took in the sight of the small boy sitting dejectedly on the dock. The silver-haired jounin wasn't one who often felt empathy for the suffering of others; he was a seasoned ninja and had too much emotional baggage of his own to really pay attention to others'. But the little argument that had just taken place had really got to him, mainly because Kakashi could see how much Naruto was affected by it. And no matter how awkward Kakashi felt around the blond, he still cared for his student and was genuinely sorry for not taking care of him when he had been younger and was growing up alone.

"Mind if I sit here?" the jounin asked the boy.

The boy shrugged and Kakashi took that as acquiesce. There was silence for a while and the silver-haired man noticed Sasuke's chakra signature nearby, probably going to find Naruto either to train with him or to drag him back. Maybe Kakashi could entice the boy to eavesdrop and learn some information about and empathy for his teammate.

"You were wrong you know."

The bridge builder's grandson looked over in question.

"You were wrong about Naruto being someone who didn't understand pain or suffering." Kakashi explained. He hid a smile that would have been covered by his mask anyway as he felt Sasuke pause with that pronouncement. The Uchiha was a little self-centered and probably never noticed that his teammate had had it as bad as, or worse off than, himself.

"We heard about your father from Tazuna-san," Kakashi continued as if he didn't realize Sasuke was there. "Naruto never had a father when he was young either. Or any parents, ever. And he never had any friends until a few years ago. Yet I never saw him grow timid, get sulky, or cry." While that was true, Kakashi hadn't ever seen Naruto before he had been assigned a team with him. But he had it on good authority from other ANBUs that Naruto still had that same 'never-give-up' attitude when he had been young as well, something which had endeared him to the ANBU ordered to watch over him.

"What he said to you, about the uselessness of crying, was probably what he had told himself over and over again."

The silver-haired jounin then sent the boy to bed to sleep on what he had revealed. Kakashi also felt Sasuke's presence disappearing as the Uchiha thought over what he learned about his teammate. Kakashi however stayed sitting on the dock and let his mind wander.

Kakashi was glad that Naruto and Sasuke had convinced Sakura to continue the mission after learning about Tazuna's lie. (Kakashi had let them choose their course of action – the Fourth may have taught that "Not doing right when you know it is right is the coward's way", but Kakashi's first priority had been his team. If they hadn't wanted to continue, they'd have been in Konoha right now). Though the jounin still worried about the upcoming battle with Zabuza when the swordsman recovered, he couldn't deny that this mission had helped drastically improve his genins skills, confidence and most importantly teamwork.

Sakura gained a new confidence after being the first to finish the tree climbing exercise, and she learned more about the way the world works as she witnessed firsthand the effects that Gato's monopoly had wrung. More importantly, the boys had started to see her as a ninja in her own right rather than just an annoying fan-girl and a pretty face.

Sasuke learned that not everything can come easily to him, genius or not. He was also starting to see the worth of his teammates, shown when he trusted Naruto and went with the blonde's plan when Kakashi had been trapped by Zabuza. He was also bonding with Naruto over their rivalry to finish the tree climbing exercise, a bond which was sure to strengthen due to the conversation Sasuke had just heard. Unfortunately there still wasn't much development between Sasuke and Sakura's working relationship. He recognized that she was taking her ninja training more seriously than before but there probably wouldn't be any real bonding until Sakura controlled her crush on the boy.

And Naruto was Naruto. As much as he liked to be in the spotlight and was too used to depending on only himself, the blond had always put more than twice the amount of effort as his teammates to create strong bonds within the team. Kakashi was happy that he was finally succeeding; even Sakura, who knew the least about Naruto and always scorned him for messing up her chances with Sasuke, could admit that she saw him in a new light after seeing his prowess in battle and his determination when learning a new skill.

Kakashi might have had his misgivings about taking any team, let alone this one full of emotionally challenged pre-teens, but he couldn't but be thankful that they passed the bell test now. He was rather fond of them, and they kept growing on him. He was also beginning to see how rewarding it was to teach; despite the fact that a dangerous A rank missing nin and a fake hunter nin accomplice was on the loose in the area, Kakashi hadn't felt so carefree in years.

* * *

Naruto and his teammates watched the sun set from their position at the top of the cliff at Zabuza's and Haku's fresh graves. Naruto was thinking about what he knew of the two missing ninjas; how soft-hearted and kind Haku was despite being the loyal tool of the Demon of the Mist (he didn't even kill Naruto and Sasuke, his supposed enemies, despite the ample opportunities within the dome of ice mirrors). Even Zabuza, who hadn't reacted to Haku's death or Gato kicking the teenagers corpse had finally broke under his emotions and died in a blaze of glory, seeking retribution for Haku's needless death against their traitorous employer. Mostly he remembered his talk with Haku in the woods, how he had proclaimed that you can only become truly strong when protecting someone important to you.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes Naruto?" the masked-man replied.

"You know how you said being a ninja is about protecting your country, helping your comrades and completing your missions?" Naruto asked.

"Yes..." Kakashi answered curious as to where this was going.

"What about them?" the blonde said, gesturing the graves. "The people of Haku's country wanted to kill him for something he was born with and couldn't help. And Zabuza had at first said that Haku and ninja in general are nothing but tools according to the shinobi rules. And it was their mission to kill Tazuna, even though he was the only hope of Wave country. So what does that mean?"

Kakashi looked thoughtful for a second before he decided to answer neutrally and see what his students thought for themselves. "Ninja aren't supposed to seek their reason to exist. It's important that they exist as a tool. That idea exists in Konoha too."

Sakura looked horrified. "Are we supposed to be like that too?" She couldn't help think about when she had thought Sasuke had died on the bridge, how even though her heart was shattering and everything was becoming too much the ninja rule "shinobi show no emotions" kept running through her mind even as she sobbed her heart out. She hadn't been able to control herself then and she couldn't imagine not feeling anything even ten years later in similar circumstances.

Kakashi was silent for a while, prompting Sasuke to ask his own question. "So you think like that too?" Sasuke asked their sensei, genuinely curious. The Uchiha understood the benefits of controlling your emotions in battle (well, at least most emotions. As his brother had said, he needed to hate more to be stronger), but he realized that he needed to work on it some more. Honestly, he still didn't know what possesed him to block Naruto in the ice mirror dome. And the dark-haired boy also didn't agree with merely being a tool. He had his own goals to accomplish and he wouldn't wait on Konoha's say-so to get revenge on his brother. He wondered what their sensei, an accomplished ninja, would have to say on the matter.

Kakashi thought over the question. He remembered when he had been young, and those rules were sacred law to him. To even consider going against them was blasphemy. Thanks mainly to Obito, he now had a very different mindset in regards to those rules. "No, I don't agree. That's why ninja unconsciously suffer from that idea, since they try and forget their humanity in their goal to become tools."

"Well, I've decided!" Naruto announced, interupting the somewhat somber air with his cheerful voice. "Screw the rules; I'm following my own nindo! One of few regrets, where I won't let my actions and thoughts be decided by stupid rules and missions! I'll choose my own way and follow my own words! Yosh!"

Kakashi smiled at his student's enthusiasm and mentally wished the blond luck. While it was a worthy goal, it wasn't all that practical. Some missions you couldn't turn down and some rules you couldn't break – there was often more at stake than a ninja's morals; there was the ninja's (and more importantly, the village's) reputation and credibility at stake. But Kakashi had a feeling that if anybody could get away with such a lifestyle, it would be Konoha's number one surprising ninja.

* * *

"Guess what?" Naruto asked his brother within the dream scape.

"What?" Harry replied. As far as he knew, nothing really happened in the week since they had returned from Wave Country.

"Ojii-san wanted to talk to me today. Apparently a group of ninjas had been by Wave country recently and reported back the name of Tazuna-oji-san's bridge."

"Oh?" Harry asked. "So what's it called?"

"The Great Naruto Bridge." Naruto said, squirming and torn between delight and embarrassment.

"That's great!" Harry enthused. "It looks like they wanted to name the bridge after someone who was a real hero."

It was one of the few times Harry had ever seen Naruto blush. "Yeah, but it wasn't like I was alone on that mission; Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke all helped too."

"Well, first of all who insisted on continuing the mission once you found out that Tazuna had lied about the mission details – you or your team?" Harry asked already knowing the answer.

"Sasuke wanted to continue on too!" Naruto argued.

"Yes, but probably so he could test his strength or something stupid like that." Harry replied. Harry had long ago learned how to read between the lines with his little brother and from what he figured out about the blonde's teammates (despite whatever arguments Naruto provided), the green-eyed boy was less than impressed.

"Well what about Kaiza then? If they wanted to name the bridge after a hero, why not name it 'The Great Kaiza Bridge'? I mean, he was a hero for Wave before me and was close to Tazuna and his family; he was like a father to Inari. And he died because of his defiance to Gato. I think it would have been better to name the bridge after him." Naruto argued.

Harry thought over what he knew about his little brother, Kaiza's story and his own life. "You're a different type of hero Naruto; in my opinion the better kind. There's this muggle saying about how if you catch a fish for a man he is fed for a day, but if you teach him how to fish he is fed for life. Kaiza and myself are the type of heroes that just catch the fish – we jump in to help and do all we can for others, but we don't really change anything in the end. Sure, everyone's happy for a bit afterwards, but when the next disaster happens they expect us to save the day each time, while taking no steps to learn from the situations to prevent it from happening again. After Voldemort was defeated, they didn't propose anything to stop something similar from happening - they didn't bother introducing muggleborn students to the wizarding world and its customs earlier so they wouldn't feel like intruders, or seem like intruders to the purebloods. Most purebloods haven't even _heard _of electricity, let alone understand it or any other muggle invention. There's no reason for muggleborns and purebloods to understand each other since they don't bother to bridge the gap between them.

There's no doubt that Kaiza was a hero, but instead of learning from him and realizing that if they want to keep their precious things they have to fight for them, the people of Wave had just given up. With most people, they never learn or change from heroes, they just hope each time something bad happens another hero will come along to save the day once more. But you, you not only acted heroically, but you inspired the people of Wave to do the same and stand up for themselves. Now even if another Gato-like person comes, instead of rolling over and praying for another Kaiza to help them, they'll drive him out on their own. It doesn't make Kaiza's actions any less admirable, or heroic. But in the long run you have helped them more than a dozen people like Kaiza ever could. You're not the type who leads by letting others borrow your strength; you lead by showing them their own."

Naruto's face was burning after the heartfelt explanation and he couldn't bring himself to look up at his brother's face. By Harry's own declaration, he thought Naruto, his little brother who he always had to nag to study more and eat properly and everything, was a better leader than he could ever be. He knew that Harry loved him, but he never dreamed that the boy he looked up to would ever have the same feelings of admiration towards him as well.

"Come here." Harry demanded, pulling Naruto in a hug. "Every word I said was true. You're going to be a great ninja one day and the best Hokage the world had ever seen."

Naruto relaxed against the other boy and the small knot of tension and apprehension that had built up after learning the name of the bridge disappeared. Now he could relish in his achievement and goad Sasuke about it guilt-free.

* * *

Harry clapped along with the rest of Hogwarts as Cedric, the last champion, was chosen from the Goblet of Fire. Harry didn't know the other boy that well, but he seemed nice enough. And besides, it was nice that a Hufflepuff got the glory for once since the exploits or Gryffindors, Slytherins, (and to a smaller degree) Ravenclaws were always more predominant in people's minds.

"Very good!" Dumbledore called out once the noise level reduced a bit. "Congratulations to all three champions, may we wish them-"

But whatever the Headmaster was going to say stopped as the goblet of fire – the magical artefact which chose the champions for each school – spat out another name.

"Why did another name come out? There are already three champions!" Ron whispered.

"This has never happened before; I'm sure '_Hogwarts: A History'_ would have mentioned it if it had. I don't know what it means." Hermione replied.

The quiet murmurings of a room full of confused people gave way to the hush that fell over the crowd as Dumbledore picked up the piece of parchment. The aging wizard looked at the paper with an unreadable expression before announcing the name to the whole Great Hall.

"Harry Potter."

Harry for his part looked back incredulously back at the Headmaster, asking him silently if it was just a big prank. Seeing how no one was laughing, Harry had just one thing to say.

"Shit."

* * *

A/N: Cedric, Fleur and Victor are all a year older in this fic because I couldn't be bothered to make up some OC's that'll only have minimal roles anyway. So the same three champions as the fourth book.

I was going to add in the battle on the bridge, but it would have been pretty much straight from canon, except from Zabuza's perspective. In the end I decided that the chapter was ultimately about Naruto defining what being a ninja was to him and team 7 bonding as a team.

**Q&A**

**I must say that this is the most enjoyable chapter so far. The reason? What Naruto did to Mizuki... it was priceless...X3**

Yes, I know it's not a question. But I would like to say thanks anyway. I didn't have an outline or idea as to where I was going with this story when I had first started writing it; I just had random scenes or ideas that I was working my way towards/around. And the Mizuki scene was one of them. I had that scene written like 10 chapters ago and was so happy to finally use it. I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did.

**Why would Naruto and Harry only be able to use 10-15 clones a day? Naruto used hundreds to defeat Mizuki!**

I'm not saying that they're only able to use that many clones, just that that's their limit while knowing there will be no ill side effects (assuming that each clone is lasting the whole day with enough magic/chakra to practice spells/jutsus and study diffferent things). If Harry and Naruto didn't have them studying different things and practicing various jutsu/spells than more clones would last longer without overwhelming Naruto and Harry with their memories. Even still, they could probably handle a few more but they're taking things slowly. and there's no point in learning everything and doing everything at once; just know that they're progressing at an excellerated rate but even still they have their limits. As time passes the number of clones per day will increase as their brains get used to processing so much information so quickly.

**So what are the effects of the basilisk and phoenix DNA within Harry? Or is it just the perfect eyesight and increased healing powers?  
**

Besides those and the things Harry had discovered this past chapter (resistance to basilisk venom, increase in physical chakra, etc.), Harry will have other traits but you will learn of them with Harry. It's just that the already stated things are either very obvious or come naturally for Harry while other changes need some work put into them (though they would have been impossible for Harry to do without the mutation).


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: I know some people are a bit confused so here's a reminder; Harry is now 13 and is in his third year, so he didn't go to the quidditch world cup or anything. Sirius had already escaped and died in Harry's first year (see chapters 9-15. Specifically 15 if you just want to know the end of the year climax). There are no horcruxes in this fic. Naruto has just turned 12 and at the start of this chapter it's the night of October 30th, right after the champions had been named. I think that's everything.

* * *

"I'm not doing it." Harry repeated for the thousandth time.

It was about half an hour after his name had been chosen by the stupid goblet, and he was still stuck in this tiny room with three angry and disgruntled heads of the magical schools, the three bewildered champions, two surprised but not overly upset ministry employees, a paranoid ex-auror and a protective head of house. After over a half hour of whining and arguing, things had finally settled down enough for a more civilized conversation.

"You're name came out of the Goblet of Fire – an impartial magical object. It's a legally binding tournament and you must participate." Crouch Sr., one of the ministry employees in charge of the tournament was saying for the tenth time.

"But you already said that this tournament is only for 17 year olds and over!" Harry argued. "I'm only 13!"

"Yes, but according to our records you recently became emancipated, correct?" Crouch retorted.

Harry felt his jaw drop in surprise; he hadn't thought that the emancipation would make him eligible for the tournament or even that the ministry would have a record of it.

"That's not quite true." McGonagall interrupted. "Though he has more rights and freedoms than a typical 13 year old he's still a ward of this school, and I as his Head of House am his guardian. And I say that he shouldn't be in this tournament!"

"There's nothing anyone can do about it now," Bagman, the other ministry employer who seemed almost delighted that Harry was chosen, stated. "His name has already been chosen."

"But it was only chosen because the goblet was tricked into thinking he was attending a non-existent school." Moody stated. "How can he be attending Hogwarts and be a ward of Hogwarts if he's representing another school?"

Crouch frowned in thought. "For this year he will officially be in another school, be fully emancipated but will attend Hogwarts classes while he is here for the tournament. Next year he may become an official Hogwarts student again."

"That's preposterous!" McGonagall yelled. "He's a Hogwarts student; obviously his name being called was a scam of some sort and he shouldn't be obligated to take part!"

"For the last time, there isn't anything that could be done!" Crouch retorted. "The Tri-Wizarding Tournament is a legally binding contract; there's no way around it."

"So, if some nasty seventh year had decided to cross the age line and put some poor first year's name in the goblet, there would be nothing you could do about it?" Harry asked incredulously. "There's nothing to prevent someone who doesn't want to participate from participating?"

"First of all, the goblet chooses the best possible champion available," Crouch explained. "So there's no way a first year would have been chosen anyway. You yourself probably wouldn't have been chosen except for the fact that the goblet had been hoodwinked into believing there was a fourth school where you were the sole option. Secondly, it's impossible to enter the Tri-Wizarding Tournament without full consent; which is why those who wanted to participate were told to submit their signatures in order to be chosen."

"But I never handed in my signature!" Harry yelled out before someone from the other schools went on another rant of how it meant he must have then purposely cheated his way in. "So then the contract wouldn't be binding to me!"

"You wouldn't have had to place it in the goblet yourself," Crouch explained. "As long as a piece of parchment with your signature, that you signed at some point voluntarily (even if you hadn't meant for it to be used for this tournament) found its way in the goblet then you are obliged to compete."

"Let's see the parchment with his name then," McGonagall demanded, praying that it wasn't Harry's real signature. But her heart dropped when she recognized the familiar writing; she hadn't taught Harry for three years and then spent a summer of correspondence with him without knowing that it was indeed Harry who wrote his name.

"Look at how the parchment is ripped," Moody stated. "The culprit probably took it from one of the boy's essays, notes or forgotten letters. That is why you shouldn't just throw out old parchment instead of burning it."

Harry looked over at the piece of parchment. It was indeed his name in his own cursive writing, but he wasn't surprised to notice one thing.

"That's not my signature."

Everyone looked to Harry in shock.

"What do you mean that's not your signature?" McGonagall asked. "I know you don't want to compete – and Merlin knows I don't want you to either – but I can recognize your signature Mr. Potter. This is the same signature on your assignments and at the end of your letters."

"But I never signed my name when I handed in assignments or sent letters." Harry explained. "I know most people in the wizarding world do, but my signature's not really legible so I just write my name normally. My real signature looks nothing like that."

The last person Harry had ever thought he would mentally give thanks to was his uncle Vernon. And yet he now found himself doing just that. His self-centered, greedy and paranoid uncle had always feared (among other things) someone stealing his identity, and thus all his money and properties. Therefore his uncle had deemed it best to have the messiest, most illiterate signature as possible so it was harder to copy (and thankfully he taught Dudley to do the same within Harry's hearing). Heeding the sound advice and wanting to honour his brother, Harry had decided to make his signature using kanji – the writing they used in Naruto's world. Which definitely proved to be a blessing now.

Harry wasn't surprised that McGonagall thought his normal writing of his name was his real signature though; almost everyone in the wizarding world signed off with their actual signature whenever possible. It was a way to give credibility to whatever the document was since no matter how well you forged a written signature, you couldn't recreate the individual's magical signature with it. That, combined with the facts that almost everybody had very neat writing (there were no computers or typewriters to make things legible for you) and that it wasn't very practical to steal an identity through forgery (especially when potions like polyjuice existed), meant that there was every reason to believe it was his real signature. But Harry hadn't seen the need to sign everything with his real signature and in fact had only used it when he had testified against the Dursleys and had filed for emancipation – therefore only in the muggle world.

McGonagall all but collapsed in relief and everyone else seemed to be in shock.

"Well, even if it's not your actual signature, it's probably best to compete just in case." Bagman said.

"Why?" Harry asked shortly. "In all the years the Tri-Wizarding tournament has been in existence you can't tell me that _no one _has ever backed out of it. And even if I'm the first, what's the worst that can happen?"

"It's rare, but had been a few occurrences where a champion had backed out after being chosen." Crouch spoke. "The goblet chose the punishment, since that is what ties the champion to the tournament. And the punishment is usually tied into the circumstance. One young wizard who's friend entered him in without his consent was only fined for a few thousand galleons, another (whose mother forced him to pull-out) had the words 'scaredy-cat' stuck on his face for the duration of the tournament, and one another had been banished from the wizarding world for a year since the witch refused to compete in the fear that she'd be disfigured due to injuries. If you choose not to compete, the goblet will deal out your punishment once the first task is over."

"That's assuming I'll be punished at all since I don't think I'm in any such bond with the goblet." Harry stated. "Besides, whoever put my name in there obviously wanted me hurt or dead and I'd much prefer getting fined or even being banished rather than participate in a deadly tournament I hadn't volunteered for. So, if that's everything..." Harry said heading towards the door. Sparing a quick good luck to the other three champions Harry left heedless of the adults calling him back.

The green-eyed boy had been in too many life and death situations to bother volunteering himself in any more just for the sake of a stupid contest.

* * *

"Naruto-kun! I'm glad to see you have returned to the village and are once again able to take part of our youthful morning workout!" Gai-sensei spoke, ending his speech with a thumbs-up and a smile so wide and bright Naruto actually heard the teeth 'ping'.

After team 7's first disastrous C rank mission, they had had two or so weeks of D rank before trying to get a proper C rank. This time they had been escorting a travelling caravan of merchants going to one of Fire Countries border towns with a few stops at smaller villages on the way. They had only encountered two bands of bandits and no ninja the entire way, which was both a good thing (since it made the mission fairly easy) and a bad thing (since it made it fairly boring). But now they were back and ready to do their regular daily schedule with D rank missions.

"Yeah; Kaka-sensei said that now that we've successfully completed a proper C rank we were going to stay in the village for a while." Naruto explained as he fought the urge to yawn. These morning training sessions with Lee and Gai were helpful, but did they have to start at 5 in the morning?!

"That's good that you will remain in the village; does that mean your team will participate in the upcoming chunnin exams?" Lee asked.

"Huh?" Naruto asked confused. "What chunnin exams?"

"It's Konoha's turn to host the chunnin exams starting in two and a half weeks from now." Gai explained. "Your team probably won't participate since you had just become genins a few months ago, but I will submit my team for consideration, since they burn with such bright determination and talent!"

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"Yes; finally the world will be able to see my flames of youth burn bright and the results of Gai-sensei's hard work and effort as a sensei!" Lee declared proudly. Naruto calmly looked away as sensei and student started crying and hugging and that weird sunset reappeared – the blond was more than used to their dramatic and emotional moments.

"But why did you wait so long?" Naruto asked once the cries of "Gai-sense! Lee! Gai-sensei! Lee!" had died down. "I mean, you've already been a genin for over a year so why haven't you participated in the last chunnin exams?"

"The last chunnin exams had been hosted by Kiri." Gai replied. "We aren't enemies of Kiri, but nor are we allies. And considering their stance on bloodline limits I did not feel it prudent to take my team – which includes a Hyuuga – to go. And as for the chunnin exams before that one – hosted by our allies the Suna shinobi – my team hadn't been ready for them, especially Lee. It had been only six months after becoming a genin, and while he might have had the stances and moves of his special taijutsu already memorized by then, he hadn't yet developed the strength and speed to back it up."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Where are the next chunnin exams, after Konoha?" Hopefully team 7 would be ready for that one.

"Unfortunately it will be hosted by Iwa." Gai answered. "Even if my rival has you trained and ready for a promotion you won't be able to take part. There's no way that Hokage-sama would trust Iwa not to eliminate any team we send – likewise I don't expect any Iwa or Kumo teams to participate in this upcoming exam."

Naruto sighed in disappointment. He'd have to wait forever to become a chunnin at this rate! There was always the hope that Kakashi would recommend them for this exam, but it was unlikely. Even Lee's team, who was a full year older, would probably be among the youngest (if not _the_ youngest) of the participants, most of whom would be in their late teens.

"Do not despair Naruto-kun!" Lee proclaimed, throwing his arm around his friend. "Rank does not matter when we burn with the flames of youth and work tirelessly to improve our skills! Even if I do not become chunnin for another ten years, I will work to be the strongest genin in the world and try to rival jounins in ability! Yosh!"

Naruto's spirits lifted with that remark, and all three training enthusiasts started their morning workout.

* * *

"Harry darling!" a voice rang through the hall. The boy in question was pulled out of his thoughts on how to best store the basilisk fangs – he had just had a moment of inspiration where he realized that he could wrap them up in basilisk skin and then seal it away in a scroll to make sure the venom wouldn't melt through. Shaken from his thoughts, Harry looked back in confusion at the source of the call. A woman, around mid-to late-thirties, plastered with make-up and carrying a large purse in one hand and a quill and a notepad in the other was pushing her way through the throng of students. Sensing that nothing good would come from her, Harry sought to lose her in the crowd on the way to his next class. He ignored all her calls and finally succeeded in reaching the classroom. Harry let out a sigh of relief once the Ancient Runes Professor closed the door and started the lesson.

Unfortunately, Harry's relief was short-lived as only a few minutes later, the same woman who had chased him down appeared at the door out of breath and got permission to speak with him. After Hermione assured him that he could borrow her notes afterwards, he slowly packed up his things and went out to the hall to talk with the woman.

"Ah, finally!" the woman said giving Harry a fake smile. "It's good to finally meet you Harry; my name is Rita Skeeter, I'm _The Daily Prophet_'s top reporter – I'm sure you've heard of me." She introduced herself smugly.

Harry hid his grimace of distaste; he had heard of her. And had read some of the crap she calls articles. It was obvious to anyone with two brain-cells to rub together that only the smallest portion of her articles had anything which could resemble facts while the rest was pure speculation, hype and fluff which made the soap-opera's his aunt Petunia so enjoyed seem like well-written poetic pieces of drama and intrigue.

"Of course Ms. Skeeter," Harry replied with a fake smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Unfortunately I have a class to attend, so if you'll excuse me..." Harry tried unsuccessfully to get to the classroom door she was blocking.

"Now now Harry; no need to be shy." She said. "I had just finished interviewing the other three champions after the wand weighing ceremony and wondered why you weren't there as the fourth champion. The reader's want to know all about you're unexpected role in the tournament – how you hoodwinked the goblet, what possessed you to participate in such a daring and dangerous competition against people far older and more experienced. Was it to live up to your name and reputation of the Boy-Who-Lived? What do you think you're parents would say about it if they were alive?"

Harry's fake politeness was being severely strained by the annoying and pushy witch in front of him. He already had enough trouble about the tournament without her creating more – his schoolmates (including Ron) had gone from being torn between jealousy, disgust and awe that he had apparently entered himself in the tournament and 'stolen' some of Cedric's limelight, to torn between incredulous disgust and anger that he was throwing away an opportunity most of them had desperately wished for by being a Tri-Wizard champion.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken," Harry said, his voice a little strained from the effort not to be rude. "The Tri-Wizard Tournament only has three champions; Cedric Diggory, Victor Krum and Fleur Delacour. I'm not a champion and I never entered myself into the competition."

Skeeter just gave him a patronizing smile. "Don't worry Harry; our readers love a rebel. You won't get into trouble talking with me. Just tell me how you did it."

In his effort to stay somewhat polite, Harry hadn't noticed that the quill resting on Rita's pad of paper was writing by itself until now. Curious despite himself, Harry leaned over to get a better look.

"_I mean, it is hard to be the Boy-Who-Lived and have the eyes and expectations of the world on you. I just don't want to disappoint anyone. Especially my parents. I know they aren't alive any longer, but I can feel them watching over me and I mean to make them proud by competing in this tournament and winning the Tri-Wizarding Cup in their honour." Harry said, voice full of emotion and eyes glimmering with purpose and a few unshed tears._

"_It'll be hard going against the other older and more experienced champions, but I'm confident th- _

Harry looked up in shock. "What are you doing? You can't print that! I didn't say a word of it! You're making stuff up and lying!"

Skeeter hastily put away the note pad and quill and wrapped her arm around the third-year. "Harry, Harry; don't worry about it. I'm not lying or making anything up, I'm just filling in the blanks. There's nothing wrong with that. Now, I think I've kept you long enough, so why don't you head back to class, hmm?"

"No." Harry was past pretending to be polite; this woman had really pissed him off. "Let me set the record straight; I never entered myself in the tournament. Therefore I am not competing in the tournament no matter what the stupid goblet says. You will rip up that trash you call an article and you won't publish anything about me or else I'll complain to the editor about you taking advantage of and slandering a minor. And you will never come near me again. Are we clear?"

Skeeter's insincere smile slid off her face at Harry's words. By the time he had finished, her lips were a tight line and her eyes were hard and angry. "You made a big mistake boy in trying to threaten me." She hissed as she walked away.

Harry watched her go without a word. He knew he hadn't been the most diplomatic, but he wasn't in the mood to deal with someone like her and he didn't care enough about his reputation to overly worry about her revenge. And if she did decide to do something to him; well Harry would deal with it when it happened.

* * *

_Harry Potter: Endearing Rebel or Reckless Hoodlum?_

_The Tri-Wizarding Tournament is a time-tested tradition of the Wizarding World, synonymous with words such as honour, victory, glory and pride. Therefore, it was to much expectation and delight that Cornelius Fudge - Britain's Ministry of Magic - had declared that this ancient ceremony would take place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft of Wizardry this year. But despite the honourable traditions of the tournament, one wizard decided not to play by the rules._

_Harry Potter, known to many as the Boy-Who-Lived, once again defied the boundaries of average or normal – and this time not in a good way. The young 13 year old had somehow cheated his way into being chosen as the tournaments fourth (you read correctly folks, fourth) champion. What would possess the young man to enter into such a demanding and dangerous contest you may ask? Perhaps the boy was seeking to stay in the spotlight as the event which originally made him a household name fades into history. Perhaps he just wanted to prove or show-off his supposed skills to the world. Or perhaps it was the result of a thoughtless prank, committed with no worries of the consequences._

_It wouldn't surprise this reporter if it was all of the above. After interviewing other students and teachers, I have found disturbing proof that Harry Potter is no more than a troubled delinquent with little to no respect for others, or the Wizarding World as a whole._

"_Of course he has no respect for the Wizarding World," respected member of society Lucius Malfoy stated. "He grew up with muggles who had spoiled him rotten and taught him that wizards were inferior to muggles. When Mr. Potter and my own son, Draco, had first come to Hogwarts in their first year, my son had graciously offered his help to the other boy to explain about the Wizarding World and its customs (since my son knew that Potter, having grown up in the muggle world wouldn't have known such things). Potter, being the unrefined child that he is, threw it in my boy's face. To this day Potter continues to cause problems for Draco without reason. So you can understand why it doesn't surprise me that Potter seeks to disrespect the age-old Tri-Wizard Tournament by backing out after his name had been chosen by the Goblet of Fire."_

"_Harry Potter always breaks the school rules." Slytherin Prefect Terence Higgs confided. "I mean two years ago when a troll and the escaped convict Sirius Black broke into the castle and the teachers insisted we stay together in the Great Hall, Potter took some of his friends and took a stroll through the castle or something. But since he's the Headmaster's favourite, all the teachers coddle him and he never gets in trouble for any of his misdeeds. It's very frustrating and unfair for the rest of the students."_

_Indeed, the more this reporter discovered, the more I had been shocked and appalled. Fame has been known to change people for the worst, and the Boy-Who-Lived is no exception. All that remains is what to do with the information; we cannot allow the boy to continue as he is lest he end up in Azkaban in a few short years. And as such an iconic figure, who knows what type of influence he's having on the young generation currently attending Hogwarts – the generation who will one day lead and take care of our beloved world in our stead._

_This reporter for one hopes that now Mr. Potter's less than stellar attributes are known to the public at large, something will be done to curb his dangerous behaviour and ensure that he one day proves to be a constructive member of the Wizarding World. _

Harry ignored the hall full of people pointing and talking about him as he put down the newspaper with a snort. He did have to give Rita credit though; she made her B.S. sound good. Even now, the sixth year on Harry's left was trying to shift away from the green-eyed boy without Harry noticing.

But Rita didn't count on a few things; Harry was never concerned with popularity or fame. He honestly couldn't care less about the backlash this article would have since he knew that Neville, Hermione, Luna and the twins at the very least wouldn't be swayed (and if Ron ever took his head out from his arse any time soon he would also realize it too).

That, and Harry was no typical 13 year-old. He had no intention of taking anything she dished out lying down.

* * *

"Wait up mate!"

Harry paused for a moment, before continuing his fast pace toward the castle. If Ron wanted to talk to him so badly, he could do it later.

"Harry! I said hold on!"

The boy in question ignored the red-head as he continued to make his way to the Gryffindor common room and to his homework. A few minutes later, his friends appeared. Hermione and Neville calmly settled down on each side of Harry protectively, nonchalantly taking out their own work, while Ron stood awkwardly in front of them.

"Look; I'm sorry. I know I haven't been the greatest friend recently, but I still care for you." Ron beseeched.

"Then why did you wait until after the first task – and after you had proof that Harry didn't enter himself since the Goblet didn't punish him with anything – to apologize?" Hermione asked shortly.

"Yeah," Neville agreed. "You should have known that Harry didn't enter himself. And yet you didn't say one kind word to him for almost a whole month!"

"I was jealous alright!" Ron confessed. "First I was mad that Harry had apparently entered himself without telling anyone, including me and didn't give us the option of entering either. And when I realised that Harry didn't enter himself, well, I was mad that he refused to compete when I would've given just about anything to have that opportunity."

"You were mad because you thought I should have competed?" Harry asked incredulously. "I don't think you understand Ron; they were facing dragons. Dragons! What would a typical third-year know about facing dragons?"

Harry intelligently kept the thought that he was almost positive he would have not only succeeded with the task, but would have done it in the fastest time to himself. A few shadow clones as distraction and a shunshin no jutsu to get the egg before the dragon realized anything was amiss, and done. But that was neither here nor there since he hadn't competed anyway and wanted to keep his shinobi training a secret.

"I said I was sorry, alright!" Ron stated. "What more do you want from me?!"

Harry looked to the red-head in thought. He had always known that Ron was somewhat insecure and prone to fits of jealousy. But the gangly boy's apparent betrayal had hurt more than Harry had ever dreamed it would. That confused Harry a bit; he shouldn't care so much what Ron thought. Sure he liked the boy, and was friends with him but it wasn't like they were particularly close like him and Naruto. And it wasn't like Harry hadn't already been aware of his less mature friend's vices before this incident. So why had he been so disappointed and upset by his friend's rejection after his name came out of the goblet?

"Okay Ron," Harry declared, looking away from the tall boy's miserable face. "I forgive you. But next time, try to hear my side of the story before you fly off the handle, okay?"

Ron sagged in relief and agreed. It wasn't long after that he found himself sitting with the other three, being scolded by Hermione to finish his charm's essay as if they hadn't fought at all.

But while Ron was more than happy to put the incident behind him, Harry wasn't so carefree. He might care for Ron and still consider the boy a friend, but there was a distance there that hadn't been there before, even if it was felt only by Harry. He no longer trusted Ron as he used to, and for the life of him the green-eyed boy couldn't tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

* * *

Naruto was almost vibrating in anticipation; they were really going to participate in the chunnin exams! Even though they were only months fresh out of the academy. But Kakashi-sensei had faith in them, and with good reason! Naruto finally going to kick some major ass!

But the blonde's endless enthusiasm ground to a halt once team 7 finally entered into room 301. It was packed. Packed with older and tougher looking genin than them.

"Sasuke-kun!" A female squealed and launched herself at her crush. "I knew you'd come for this! You're so strong and such a good ninja."

"Get off of him Ino-pig!" Sakura yelled at her best-friend/rival. She may have backed off a bit from Sasuke (as in only asking once a day for a date and working more on her skills instead of just watching and stalking the Uchiha as he trained), but that didn't mean she was willing for Ino to come and take Sasuke-kun away from her.

"So you guys did come." Shikamaru said as the he and Chouji walked over. "It's pretty rare for rookies to take part of the genin exams."

"And yet all nine rookies are here." Kiba finished as he Shino and Hinata came to talk to their former classmates. "This is going to be wicked."

"I wouldn't be so confident if I were you." An unknown teen with silver-grey hair, glasses and a Konoha hitai-ate said walking up to the large group. "Nor would I be so loud; you guys are drawing a lot of attention to yourselves."

Naruto narrowed his eyes in thought. There was something almost familiar about this guy...

"Oh?" Ino responded, ignoring her argument with Sakura for the moment. "And who are you to come tell us to be quiet?"

The bespectacled teen just chuckled. "I guess I forgot to introduce myself, ne? My name's Yakushi Kabuto. And I'm only telling you guys to settle down for your own good. Everyone's already tense since the exam is due to start any minute and you guys causing a fuss isn't helping. Besides, this exam is harder than you think and considering that you guys must be the newly graduated genins, you'll need all the help you can get."

"So is this your second time taking the chunnin exam?" Sakura asked.

"No," Kabuto replied. "This is my seventh time."

The rookie 9 drew back in shock. 7 times taking the exam and he still wasn't a chunnin?!

"Well then, that would make you an expert on these exams right?" Sakura said. "So you could help us pass."

"I doubt he could help us pass," Shikamaru stated. "He may have taken the exam 7 times, but he had failed each one."

"Unfortunately he is correct." Kabuto replied sadly. "And besides, each chunnin exam is different based on the host village. For example here in Konoha where they stress teamwork you are unable to take the exam unless in a team of three while in the mist village the chunnin exams are done solo."

Naruto all but ignored the conversation around him as he tilted his head to the side still staring at the silver-haired genin. There was something nagging him from the back of his mind...

"I'll tell you what," Kabuto said, taking out a deck of cards. "Since you guys are rookies and fellow Leaf-nins, I'll give you guys some information from my info cards."

"Info cards?" Ino asked.

"Yes; they're cards I made where I burned information using my chakra. To anyone else they look blank," Kabuto explained showing the rookies a plain white card on one side. "but with a little bit of my chakra, then the information becomes visible."

Sure enough, once Kabuto touched the apparently blank card and pumped a small amount of chakra into it, the empty card became a small map consisting of all the countries (and their respective hidden villages) taking part in the exam along with the number of examinees from each place.

"I've been collecting information on the chunnin exams and its participants these past 5 years and have over 200 cards." Kabuto stated proudly. "And since it needs my chakra, no one else can steal them to use against me."

Naruto looked thoughtful at that. That was a really good idea. But at the same time, he already had the English language which no one in this world knew, so if Naruto ever wanted to jot something down he didn't want others to know he already had a way. But it still would be interesting to know.

"Do you have any cards on detailed personal information?" Sasuke asked the older genin.

"My info on this year's examinees isn't perfect, but I've got it." Kabuto confirmed. "I even have info on you guys despite this being your first chunnin exam and you are rookie ninjas. So who do you have in mind?"

"Gaara from the Village Hidden in the Sand." Sasuke replied, remembering the cold and deadly looking red-head team 7 had bumped into a few days ago in the street.

"Well, it certainly makes it easier to find them if you already know their name and village." Kabuto remarked, shuffling through his deck. "Since he's a foreign ninja I probably won't have too much information. Let's see; Sabaku no Gaara; a genin from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, 12 years old and this is his first chunnin exam as well. Has completed 8 C rank missions, an unknown amount of D ranks, and what this? A B rank as a genin? That's amazing. And what's more, he had returned from all his missions unharmed."

"He completed a B rank as a genin and wasn't hurt?" Shikamaru repeated. "This exam is going to be so troublesome if that's our competition."

The other rookies couldn't help but wordlessly agree.

"Maybe it's just him though," Sakura suggested. "Maybe the others aren't that strong."

"Nah," Naruto disagreed. "They may not all be that strong but you can bet that there'll be a lot of strong ninjas here. I don't think these other countries would send just any genins; they'd only want to send their best who have the best chance of becoming chunnins."

The other rookies couldn't help but look around a bit nervously at the truth in that statement. Being surrounded as they were by experienced older and maybe stronger opponents wasn't the most heartening experience.

"I'm starting to lose confidence..." Hinata murmured as she took in all the glaring eyes and emotionless faces.

"It's a little late for that now Hinata." Ino scolded the shy girl.

Naruto looked back and forth at their intimidating competition and his nervous friends.

"**Hey!**"

Silence rang out after the loud and sudden shout, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

"**My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm not going to lose to any of you!**" The blond yelled out to everyone's horror/amusement/shock. "**Got that?!**"

Sakura dove to her teammate and put her hand over his mouth as if her life depended on it – and in her mind her life just may have.

"Ha ha!" the pink-haired girl chuckled nervously in the deafening silence. "Don't mind him; he doesn't know what he's saying. I'm sorry about the idiot; just ignore what he said."

Once everyone stopped paying so much attention to the rookies Ino turned to her rival. "Just what did your stupid teammate think he was doing?!"

"I don't know!" Sakura replied. "Don't blame me for his actions!"

"She's got a point Naruto." Shikamaru stated. "You just made an enemy with everyone in the room. Not your smartest idea."

"Well I thought it was awesome." Kiba said giving his former schoolmate a grin. "That took balls man; kudos to you."

Naruto folded his arms behind his head casually to show his lack of repentance and the fact that he wasn't worried about any retribution for his exclamation. "Thanks Kiba; it felt really good, I definitely suggest doing it."

Kabuto just chuckled. "I have to agree with the others; this is your first exam and provoking the competition will just make things harder on yourself Naruto-kun."

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but then his eyes widened in shock.

"Of course!" Naruto yelled triumphantly. "You!" he exclaimed, pointing at Kabuto in accusation. "I know what you are!"

Everyone else looked taken aback by Naruto's sudden hostility. The blond meanwhile leaned forward until he was practically nose to nose with Kabuto.

"You can't fool me; I'm keeping my eye on you." Naruto stated.

Anything Kabuto was going to reply in defence was interrupted as the examiner for the first exam showed up, introducing himself of Morino Ibiki. It wasn't long before all the examinees were led to the adjacent room where the first test of the chunnin exams would take place, and as the genins filtered in three people became lost in thought.

'So I'm not the only person who noticed something,' Shikamaru thought as he gave Naruto and Kabuto a thoughtful look. 'I thought it weird that a genin considered good enough to be recommended for 6 previous exams; of which at least four would have had to be in foreign villages, didn't pass yet. He must have been working on gathering information rather than working to become a chunnin. And then there's the fact that he voluntarily approached us and provided information. Usually those who collect information don't share it easily. So why would he do that? To find out more about us? He had already admitted that his data on us wasn't quite perfect, so maybe he wanted to play nice and fish for more info to fill his data cards with.'

'What could he possibly know?' Kabuto and undercover spy for Orochimaru and the Sound Village asked himself shooting Uzumaki Naruto an unreadable look. 'All my info on him says that he's a dumb, loud, and a loser. Fifteen minutes ago I would have agreed; he had acted according to expectation until the very end of the conversation. But what had caused the sudden hostility? I don't like the distrustful looks he's sending me now; I need him to at least tolerate me if I'm to get close to Sasuke-kun. Did he stumble on a meeting between me and a Sound agent without my knowledge? What does he know – or at least think he knows – about me and who did he tell? The last thing I need is doubt as to my allegiance and paranoia to run through the village so close to the Orochimaru's invasion. If it were anyone else, I could have him killed in the second test, but the Kyuubi container is sure to get a full investigation. What should I do?'

'I knew there was something familiar about him,' Naruto thought a little smugly. 'It all fits – Kabuto is Harry's evil twin! He can't fool me; I know his true nature! They're so alike and yet so different; Kabuto's got white, long, and straight hair when Harry's is short, messy and black. Kabuto's tall while Harry is short. Harry has green eyes, and Kabuto's are practically black. They're both thin and have similar facial structures. And Harry's glasses even looked like Kabuto's before he didn't need them anymore. And since Harry is nice and good, Kabuto has to be evil and bad; that's just how the evil twin from another dimension works.' Naruto finished his thoughts with finality.

'I wonder who my evil twin in Harry's dimension is...' Naruto thought oblivious to the looks Shikamaru and Kabuto (among others) were shooting him. 'Mafloy maybe? He's blond, rich from a noble family where I'm poor and an orphan...nah, who am I kidding? My evil self would be _way _cooler than Malfoy!'

* * *

A/N: Ha ha! I bet you weren't expecting that! Harry's not going to be a champion; but as you can see, he'll still have problems. I'm going to be recycling some old plot-bunnies that I didn't have time for in second year featuring Umbridge and play around with them to fit in this year.

The idea to wrap the basilisk fangs in the skin was from the reviewer Rain. Thanks for the suggestion!

**Q&A**

**Now here is a question. Is it really possible for a witch/wizard in the Harry Potter universe to exhaust their magic? I realize that when a magic spell is cast upon an object, unless there is something extraordinary about either the spell or said object, the magic will eventually wear out. I also realize that if a person is in pain, or is exhausted either mentally or physically, casting spells becomes more difficult, but I've always figured that was because the pain and exhaustion made it harder to gain the concentration needed to make the spells effective. But is there any statement in the books, or any sort of evidence that clearly proves that magic has some sort of physical limit beyond concentration?**

For the purpose of this story, yes it is possible for a witch or wizard to exhaust their magic. But it's harder for them to do it than it for ninjas to suffer from chakra exhaustion since their wands ensure that they only use about a quarter of the magic and effort for any given spell that the equivalent jutsu would need. But even if it takes way longer, wizards can still suffer from magical exhaustion. And yes, pain and physical and mental exhaustion would also affect spell/jutsu casting.

Think of it like this; casting a spell or jutsu is equivalent to drawing a straight line with a marker. Physical exhaustion would make your hand shaky and your grip loose (so very hard to maintain a straight line), mental exhaustion/distraction would cause you to be careless and unfocused, (again not keeping it straight) and magical/chakra exhaustion would be like running out of ink, making the line lighter and lighter until there's none at all.

I don't know if there's any evidence or statements in the HP books about magical exhaustion or any limit to the amount of magic one could use. I'd assume there'd have to be though, and even if there isn't in canon it happens in this fanfic.

.

**I also wonder whether (Fake) Moody has noticed the clones around the castle, or would he not notice them since they are made of Chakra.**

I figure that Moody's eye is kind of similar to the Hyuuga's, but not as powerful (it doesn't have as much of a range, only about ten or fifteen meters) and he can't see in all directions at once (he can only see where his pupil is pointed). So he probably wouldn't be looking towards the clones anyway (since he wouldn't be able to see far down enough to the Chamber and he has no reason to scope out the library) but if he did see them Harry would just have to make sure that two or more aren't close together – Moody wouldn't be able to tell a shadow clone from the real Harry, but he would be able to see through the henge of the shadow clone masking it as a random student. But I don't think Moody will ever see a shadow clone or suspect anything for this story.

**if the fight on the bridge was similar to cannon then was kyuubi's chakra as strong as it was in cannon considering that Harry's connection acted as a sort of buffer for it? And if Naruto goes into his sewer mindscape later on do you think that there is going to be a representation of his connection with Harry? Would Naruto's mind even be represented by sewer considering that he has had someone love and support him for as long as he remembered?**

A very good question – one I really should have answered last chapter but I forgot about. Anyway, you are right that Harry's and Naruto's connection acted like a buffer for the Kyuubi's power, so even though Naruto did tap into the power after Sasuke's "death", it hadn't been as potent or uncontrollable and Naruto had an easier time throwing off the effects and suppressing it.

You'll have to wait and see for the rest of your questions.

**I know Harry's buying out Flourish & Blotts, but what about muggle subjects? Harry could introduce new technology to the Elemental Countries. Or even better to have access to the knowledge so that he could utilise it for his own means. I mean between physics, chemistry, and biology in the slightly more advanced muggle world he could revolutionise several industries. And while I would not want to introduce advanced projectile weapons to the Shinobi countries if Harry is able to introduce computer systems think of how much paper work he could cut down in the administration side of things. Heck he could wait until Naruto become Hokage to do it. Or how much better intelligence gathering could be with airborne or satellite resources. Heck if you built in a GPS chip into every head band/ANBU mask without anyone the wiser you could track all of your ninja movements. And explosives that use chemical or electrical timers rather than chakra would be virtually undetectable by ninja forces. What a way to take down Oto shrink several large bombs using one of the time release spells then have them swallowed by some conjured snakes and send them into the underground bases only for the charm's time to be up just before they are set to detonate. Or better yet just portkey motion sensitive bombs into place so as that as soon as they touch ground they go boom.**

Sadly I didn't even think of bringing muggle books even after I made the library Harry's muggle home. So thank you so much ReflectionsOfReality for reminding me – I had already planned a little...excursion...for Harry's winter break, and it won't be hard to add a little shopping trip to muggle London during that time.

But as for combining technology with the ninja world – well, you'll have to see later.

**I wonder if Harry by pushing his limits with the clone usage each day if the extra memories exerted would force his mind to organise rudimentary Occlumency and all Harry would need to master the practice is actually learn of the existence of the mental arts. And while I can see them limiting the number of clones they use for learning new things, in single battle or things like missions and guard duty I can see them using exponentially more simply because when watching a bare spot in the woods waiting for the possibility of intruders hours on end your mind automatically discards most of the filler bits. Or if you have picked up one piece of trash your mind won't really register a difference of picking up a thousand different pieces.**

Shhhhh! Don't give away plot points! But you are right about Harry and Naruto being able to use tons considering the circumstances – the less the amount of mental stimulation, physical demand and chakra use, the more clones they can make to last for longer periods of time.

**Naruto and Harry never really seem to have any real argument. Yes, they've known each other all their lives, they have a tendency of beating the snot out of each other (aka ninja training), and they have differing interests, but you've never shown them to have a genuine difference in opinion that  
could/would lead to some rather uncomfortable tension between them for however long it takes for them to settle their differences. That is was siblings do, blood-related or otherwise, isn't it?**

Thanks Tellemicus Sundance for pointing that out. I do know that real siblings fight, but I didn't see the need to add any in the story. Here's my reasoning; most arguments between them would be over fairly minor things (at least in relation to the plot) and could be easily resolved (at least with a night or two of not talking to each other in the dreamscape followed by an intense sparring session).Combined with the fact that they were all each other had for a long time, they still are closest to each other and are aware that their time together may run out soon depending on how their bond breaks, well they are a lot more patient and forgiving with each other than they would be with say Kiba or Ron for doing the same thing. They will argue more and to a greater degree once they no longer fear themselves being separated forever and once they have to deal with each other more often day to day. (Keep in mind also that in the dreamscape, Harry only knows what Naruto tells him and vice versa. So if say Naruto discovered a jutsu he wants to try out but Harry forbids it due to possible consequences, once they are awake Harry has no way of knowing or stopping Naruto from doing what he likes).

**What language do they speak in the dreamscape? I'm guessing Japanese(or whatever Naruto speaks natively) but is Naruto fluent enough in English to speak to Harry once the older boy arrives in the Elemental Countries (sorta like a secret code/language)?**

Within the dreamscape Harry and Naruto speak a bastardized mix of English and Japanese (though they aren't technically English and Japanese since they come from different worlds where they don't have the other's language anywhere in the world and all that). As they get older they get better at speaking just their native language at home, but they still do say the odd word that no one from their own world understands but just shrug off as a quirk or slang term they are unfamiliar with. And yes; Naruto is fluent enough that if they want to talk to each other without anyone understanding they can talk English in the Elemental Countries.

**How come neither one has put two and two together that the Yondaime looks identical to the image of Naruto's father the image the Mirror of Erised showed? Wouldn't both had seen a picture of the Yondaime in a textbook -- or, in Naruto's case, just hanging around the Hokage Tower? And Naruto's recollection when influenced by a dementor's presence in addition to finding out he was used by the Yondaime to seal the kyuubi in?**

Who says they haven't? It's true that I haven't mentioned it (and I kind of hoped that no one else would either...) but that's mainly because it has no influence on the story at this time. Whether they have figured it out or not will be revealed later.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: I realized about half-way through this chapter that I have the time wrong – since in cannon the chunnin exam starts on July 1st and it takes place every six months, it should start every July and January. I had miscounted and made it start December 1st. Oops. I'm not sure how many people would have noticed if I didn't point it out, but I don't feel like changing it so this year they changed the schedule a bit.

As more and more canon things take place, I'm skipping more and more scenes. Much of the canon events from the chunnin exams I want to happen more of less the same and I don't see the need to re-write it all. So I'm going to be skipping a lot of scenes, but I'm sure you guys will be able to fill in the blanks (just like in the Zabuza arc).

I don't own anything. And thanks to everyone who reviewed!

_English in Naruto's world or Japanese in Harry's world is written in italics._

* * *

Naruto grumbled angrily even as the proctor responsible for watching his row stared at him. A written test! Who uses a written test to judge the abilities of ninjas?!

Looking at the questions Naruto knew that he would be lucky to get even three of the nine correct. And the tenth question wasn't even going to be revealed until the last fifteen minutes of the test. Naruto took a quick look around at the busily scribbling genin. The blond realized that he was no Shikamaru, but how could they all know the answers?!

"N-Naruto-kun?" a timid voice interrupted his moment of panic.

Naruto looked over to see Hyuuga Hinata sitting beside him; she was a fellow rookie though on a different team. He didn't know her all that well but she seemed nice enough.

"I-if you want you can copy off me." She said with a blush, subtly pushing her paper closer to the blond.

'She knows all the answers too?!' Naruto thought catching sight of her completely filled in test. But just as he convinced himself to cheat, a kunai flew by his ear to land on the desk of the person behind him.

"Number 37; you and your team are disqualified!" a chunnin proctoring the test yelled out.

"What?" the disqualified genin asked. "What do you mean disqualified?! What did I do?!"

"You were caught cheating too many times that you ran out of points; now get out!"

After that first team others were also kicked out soon after until at least a quarter of the genins were gone. Naruto meanwhile was having an inner crisis.

He couldn't copy off of Hinata; it was too obvious and he didn't want her to get in trouble for being nice. But at the same time he needed to cheat in order to pass. Suddenly a smile lit up his face.

Bending his head a little and closing his eyes in concentration, Naruto tried to use the copying charm without any hand signs or noise. He decided to copy the paper from the person if front of him – that genin seemed to be finished and was rather calm. And that way it couldn't implicate Hinata since Naruto's answers would be the exact same in both phrasing and handwriting as the one he was copying. Naruto felt the spell take hold as his pencil started writing on its own. He kept his hand holding it loosely to seem as if he was writing, while the paper finally got filled in.

Once the spell finished its work, Naruto sighed in relief and turned his paper over. Noticing Hinata's questioning look he flashed her a million watt smile, both in relief that he was finished and in reassurance that he did alright.

Hinata felt herself grow lightheaded and her face heat up under the power of that smile.

"Hinata!"

Thankfully before Naruto's oblivious concern over Hinata's red face could make the situation worse for the Hyuuga heiress, the head examiner for the first test spoke.

"It is now at the 45 minute mark." The scarred man announced. "But before I reveal the tenth question of this test, you all have to decide if you want to hear it."

The genins looked to each other wondering what was going on.

"What do you mean if we want to hear it?" Someone yelled. "Why wouldn't we want to hear it?"

"You should listen to all the facts before you make any decisions." The imposing man stated shooting the genin a hard glare. "This question comes with a different set of rules than the first 9. If you stay to hear the question, you must answer it. And if you answer it incorrectly you not only fail this chunnin exam; you will be disqualified from every other chunnin exam hereafter and will remain a genin for the rest of your miserable lives."

The examinees yelled out in protest.

"What do you mean we can't ever be a chunnin if we get the question wrong?!"

"You can't do that! That's not allowed!"

Finally it seemed like the large man had enough.

"**Silence!**"

The room became deafeningly quiet.

"I am the examiner here and what I say goes. If you don't like it then leave. You all have two minutes to decide before the doors close for good." Ibiki stated as the doors opened for anyone wanting to quit before the tenth question was revealed.

Teams started getting up to leave, and at the one minute mark at least 12 more teams had already left. Naruto just stared at the impassive head examiner and grit his teeth in anger – despite the man's emotionless face Naruto could tell that the man was enjoying the panic and hopelessness of the genins.

A couple of more genins who had risen to leave stopped before taking a few steps at the sound of a loud bang and yell.

"Screw you!"

Everyone looked in shock at the orange clad form pointing at the scary examiner.

"You can't scare me! If an A class missing-nin couldn't make me back down, there's no way I'll let a stupid question stop me!" the blond yelled out.

"And if I fail; well so what?! Even if I'm banned from ever becoming a chunnin, I'll still train hard and become the Hokage! And nothing you say or do can stop me!"

Those who had been heading towards the doors stopped and turned around while those still sitting became sure of their decision and firm in their resolve. Ibiki just barely gave into some amused chuckles; that kid had guts. And he was able to influence all the others as well.

'I don't know whether to admire the kid or be pissed off at him,' the scarred man thought, quickly counting the remaining number of genins. 'Damn it; 78. We started with 153 and I had bet Anko that I'd have at least half of them fail if not more.'

Ibiki sighed. At least the dango shop owner would be happy.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore sat up in surprise when the wards alerted him of the gargoyle guarding his office permitting someone entry. He hadn't been expecting anyone, but he quickly seated himself and looked to the office door expectantly as if he knew his visitor had been coming for quite some time – a little assumed omnipotence helped a long way when you wanted to control a conversation/meeting.

There was a knock on the door and with a kindly "Come in!" Harry Potter entered the Headmaster's office.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Dumbledore asked, offering a bowl of lemon drops to the third-year student.

Harry graciously took one and settled down in his seat. "I think it's time you told me about why Voldemort is targeting me." Harry said, deadly serious.

Albus almost choked on his own lemon drop – he hadn't been expecting that.

"Why do you ask this now – did something happen?" Dumbledore asked concerned.

"Of course something happened!" Harry retorted. "Voldemort tried to kill me when I was a baby, then he tried again in my first year, and then his memory/younger self-thing tried to feed me to a basilisk last year and now this year a powerful and magical artifact is tricked into picking me for a deadly tournament! I think I'm beyond owed an explanation about Voldemort's ambition to do me in."

Dumbledore sighed. "Harry, you are still so young. There's no need to worry yourself over such matters; that's in the past and you've already extracted yourself from the tournament successfully. You –"

"Professor," Harry interrupted. "I'm not taking no for an answer. I won't go to classes, to meals, or even leave this room until I have all the information I want. I appreciate your efforts in trying to ensure that I have a normal and happy childhood, but can't you see that it's way past that point now? Can't you see that by keeping things from me and trying to surround me in bubble wrap you'll only hurt me in the long run? The time to preserve my childhood is past; now what I need is the truth."

Albus looked long and hard into those determined green eyes and finally looked away with a sigh. As much as he hated to admit it, Harry was right. Settling himself in for the long conversation, the elderly man began to speak.

"Fourteen years ago the war against Voldemort had reached its peak. The ministry was infested with the Dark Lord's supporters and spies and despite their best efforts the aurors were always too little, too late. I had already organized a group of resistance fighters –"

* * *

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto ran swiftly through the dense forest. They had just finished the written test, had a quick lunch and then were ushered to the second test location – a circular training area dubbed the Forest of Death. Each team was given a scroll representing either heaven or earth and they were told that in order to pass this test their full team had to bring one of each scroll to the building located in the middle of the Forest within 5 days – which meant of the 26 remaining teams at least 13 were guaranteed to fail.

Suddenly Naruto thought of an idea and called for a stop.

"We had just started, why would you want to stop now?" Sakura asked her blond teammate.

"It's not my fault that nature calls." Naruto responded. "I'll be back in a minute."

That said Naruto wondered into the woods for some privacy. But it wasn't to relieve himself despite what his teammates thought. He was going to use the summoning spell to get them the scroll they needed. He didn't know if it would work or not, but it was worth a shot.

Naruto made a few shadow clones to guard him as he focused on the spell – who knew how far the closest Earth scroll was. Then, settling himself in a comfortable position Naruto went through a few hand seals no one from his world would recognize and yelled out "Summoning no jutsu!" while concentrating on the image of an Earth scroll.

The blond didn't know how much time passed as he sat there silently, hand reaching out to thin air hoping that it would work. Even as long minutes passed Naruto refused to give up; he told everyone that he wouldn't lose and he meant it damn it!

Finally there was a swooshing noise of something moving through the air at high speeds and with a satisfying thwack an Earth scroll was caught in Naruto's hand.

"Yatta!" Naruto yelled out, ignorant of the small beads of sweat which were making their way down his face. "First day in and we already have both scrolls – we'll pass for sure!"

Spirits high and feeling proud Naruto sauntered back to where he had left his teammates waiting. He was surprised to see them a bit more ruffled than how he had left them.

"What'd I miss?"

"Some rain genin had come trying to get the scroll. He'd been alone and wasn't very good though, so it was no problem to deal with." Sasuke replied nonchalantly.

"Yeah, and where the hell were you?!" Sakura asked angrily. "Leaving us to deal with an enemy on our own. It's a good thing that Sasuke-kun is so talented and fought him off so quickly." Sakura commented, stars in her eyes at her idol's prowess.

Naruto scowled at the thought of Sasuke showing off in front of Sakura again. Why couldn't the pink-haired kunoichi ever look and talk about him like that?

"The rain-nin tried to imitate you in order to get close to us," Sasuke said. "It was a lucky thing that his henge wasn't quite right. We should establish a code-phrase so that if we're ever separated we can confirm our real identities when we meet up."

"Hm!" Sakura agreed. Naruto just folded his arms across his chest – sure it was a good idea, but that didn't mean he would help inflate Sasuke-teme's overly large ego.

"Sure, whatever you say bastard." Naruto said. "If you really need to..."

Before Sakura could berate Naruto and thus waste time, Sasuke continued speaking. "Then be quiet and listen up; I only want to say this once. The question will be "When does a ninja strike?" and the response is "A ninja waits until the time is right, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for the ninja to strike.""

Naruto looked on in bewilderment. He was supposed to remember all that?!

"Did you guys get that?"

"Yup!" Sakura confirmed cheerily.

"Uhhh...."

"Don't tell me you didn't memorize it already?" Sakura asked the blond. "Are you stupid or something?"

"No!" Naruto replied defensively. "I just think it's a stupid code-phrase! It's too long and we might not have the time to go over all of it."

"Well, what do you suggest then?" Sakura asked.

Naruto thought for a second, before a grin came over his features. "How about '_Sasuke is a bastard_'?"

Sakura and Sasuke both drew back at the odd sounding noises that their teammate just uttered.

"What was that?" Sakura asked. "I think I heard Sasuke's name, but I'm not sure."

"Quit wasting time dobe!" Sasuke scolded. "It does no good to memorize random noises if you can't remember them either."

"I know what I said teme!" Naruto defended. "The code-phrase is _Sasuke is a bastard_!"

"Sasuke iza bass tawed." Sakura tried to repeat clumsily.

"Close." Naruto commented. "Here, I'll say it again: -"

"We don't have time for this." Sasuke said interrupting Naruto's lesson. "We'll just keep the old code-phrase for now, and maybe later change it to Naruto's."

"Fine." Naruto grumbled. And then he perked up – he forgot to tell his teammates about getting a scroll. "Hey guys, guess what? When I –"

Just then a huge gust of wind slammed through the clearing creating a wind tunnel effect knocking all three off their feet. Naruto didn't know how long or far he'd been swept away since the wind had first arrived, but when he finally regained his sense of equilibrium his teammates were nowhere to be seen and the blond didn't recognize his surroundings.

"Kuso..." Naruto swore as he started to run back to where he assumed his teammates were. "Whoever did that was really powerful."

Unfortunately his reunion with Sasuke and Sakura was put on hold as a giant snake came out of nowhere, determined to make Naruto its next meal.

* * *

When you thought of proud and strong kunoichi, Haruno Sakura was probably one of the last ones that came to mind – a fact that the pink-haired girl could even admit to herself. Sakura was from a civilian family (though she did have some ancestors who had been ninjas) and she had joined the academy like everybody else for additional learning and some basic survival skills. But when the time came to either attend the ninja academy or the civilian school full time, she had opted to follow her best friend Ino, despite her lack of real interest or ambition for the ninja life.

While the pinkette wasn't the only one who had stayed on despite no real goals of being a ninja, she was one of the few who had lasted to the end, mainly so she could stay near her idol and crush, Sasuke, and continue competing with her best friend turned rival, Ino. In the academy she had ranked highest in knowledge and book smarts, and even her lackluster practical skills didn't bring her all-around ranking below middle of the class.

She still remembered when she had been assigned on the same team as her Sasuke-kun; it was like all her dreams had come true. She had made Ino insanely jealous and had gotten the opportunity to spend the majority of her time with her future husband in one fell swoop. Only the fact that Naruto was also in their team had stopped her from floating on air that day.

And when Kakashi had first met them and asked them to introduce themselves she didn't have an answer as to her goals and dreams for the future – she was already with Sasuke. True, they hadn't been married or even going out yet, but considering how much time they would spend together being on the same team and all, it would only be a matter of time before Sasuke fell head over heels in love with her.

For those first few months of being an official ninja Sakura had spent more time dieting than reading about new techniques, hitting and rejecting Naruto than trying to connect with anyone other than Sasuke, and stalking/watching Sasuke train rather than train herself. It wasn't until the Wave Country mission, their first mission that involved danger and the need for real ninja skills that Sakura had realized how important training and techniques were, and more importantly how pathetically behind she was compared to her teammates (even Naruto).

Afterwards she had metaphorically picked up her socks. Every morning before meeting her team she would have a quick jog, she helped out more during D rank missions instead of just berating Naruto and watching Sasuke prove his skills again and again, and she visited the library more often looking for genjutsu skills and/or other techniques where her perfect chakra control could more than make up for her lesser physical abilities and small chakra pool.

But despite her happiness at lasting longer in spars against her teammates, her pride about her team's recommendation for the chunnin exams and her growing maturity; now not even a full 40 hours after the start of the start of the second test getting her head punched again and again by a merciless Sound genin while her teammates where unconscious for unknown reasons after fighting that freaky long-tongued man – well Sakura realized that even with her change in attitude and habits after the Wave mission it was still too little, too late. She was failing – like always – and this time her teammates couldn't save her.

She felt tears of desperation, anger and pain roll down her cheeks even as she stubbornly clenched her teeth tighter around the Sound-nin's arm.

"Let go you little bitch!"

In response Sakura just clenched tighter despite the ache in her jaw and the fact that her teeth felt like they would fall out any second. She knew she had no chance against them – even Lee, an older leaf ninja who introduced himself as a friend of Naruto's and had fought the sound trio with incredible skill lost to their combined strength. But if there was one thing she had learned from being on team 7 – and more importantly, being Naruto's teammate – it was to be incredibly stubborn and keep fighting no matter what. And since Sasuke and Naruto always defended and protected her on missions it was only fair for her to return the favour.

"Enough of this." Kin, the only female of the Sound trio spoke. "Let's just kill the little girl and then get back to our mission. Hold her still Zaku."

Sakura closed her eyes even as she bit down harder. She didn't plan on going quietly, but that didn't mean that she wanted to watch the other ninja approaching with a kunai in hand and a merciless glint in her eye.

Sakura winced as she sensed the Oto nin descend for the killing blow. But when nothing happened, she hesitantly opened her eyes, only to see the girl smirking, holding the kunai at the throat of her own teammate.

"Let go unless you want to die."

"Kin?!" her teammates stammered. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"You heard me!" the Oto kunoichi said, ignoring her teammates' incredulity. "Let her go or I'll slit your throat!"

Zaku reluctantly let Sakura go and stepped away from his deranged teammate. "Idiot girl," he said smirking at Kin. "You know what the price of failure and disloyalty to Orochimaru-sama is!"

"Death."

Kin's eyes widened in surprise at the voice right behind her – she hadn't sensed the third Oto genin come at her until it was too late. Before she could even start to turn around and defend herself, a large spinning ball came out of nowhere and made Dosu abandon his attack in order to avoid being flattened. Zaku decided to use Kin's distraction for his own advantage.

"Take this!"

But his arms which had been aimed at his traitorous teammate were suddenly pointing up without his consent, making his attack shoot harmlessly into the sky.

"Shadow Bind Jutsu, success."

Sakura looked over to see Shikamaru carrying an unconscious Ino into the clearing. She looked back at the Oto kunoichi. "Ino?"

"Of course Forehead-girl," the blond answered using the sound genin's body. "You don't think I'd let them kill you, did you?"

Sakura practically sagged in relief. Maybe things weren't that hopeless. Maybe she could still help protect Sasuke-kun from these Sound-nin.

"By the way, you look terrible." Ino stated, trying to sound condescending but everyone could hear the concern in her voice. And she was quite right – Sakura's hair was roughly and unevenly cut, she had cuts all over her body and some of them looked fairly deep, one of her eyes was so swollen it was almost completely shut and there were signs of early bruises and swelling all around her face and head.

"I'm fine," Sakura assured her rival, giving a small grin because a full smile hurt too much. "And in any case, I'm still prettier than you."

Shikamaru groaned as the two started arguing. He was glad that they still cared for each other and didn't let their rivalry interfere with helping the other out in tough situations, but couldn't they choose a different way of expressing their feelings? Or maybe, not arguing in the middle of battle?

Suddenly there was a familiar yell as Chouji, no longer in Baika no jutsu form, finally skidded to a stop right next to them from a powerful hit. And Shikamaru swore as he realized he didn't have enough chakra to keep up the other genin's imprisonment with his shadow. Reluctantly he released the jutsu.

Everyone stopped to catch their breaths and assess the situation.

"Drop your scroll and leave now." Ino commanded, placing her kunai against the neck of her stolen body. "If you don't, your teammate gets it!"

The other two Oto-nin just smirked before Zaku fired. Chouji moved to intercept the attack, but Ino was still thrown backwards. Those unfamiliar with her clans' jutsu were surprised to see the blonde's unconscious body sustain the same damage as the borrowed one.

"I see," Dosu, the unofficial leader of the Sound genin said. "anything that hurts Kin hurts you as well. It's a clever technique, but dangerous. I would suggest you either stop possessing our teammate or be prepared to die."

Ino gasped. "You can't be serious?! What kind of monsters attack their own teammate?!"

"We aren't the typical genin team." The bandaged teen said. "We don't even care about the scrolls. We are just here to complete our mission – something real ninjas do. You're all just a bunch of children from a second rate village."

"That's pretty big talk from someone hailing from a newly formed village." A voice from above spoke. "If you are so confident in your abilities, then you won't mind fighting against me."

Everyone looked up to see Lee's teammates standing on a large branch overlooking the clearing.

"These Leaf genins are springing out of the woods like cockroaches!" Dosu complained.

"What did you do to our teammate?!" Tenten demanded once she noticed how beat up Lee was. Even training sessions with Gai-sensei didn't always get him in such a state, so what could these sound ninjas have done?

"The same thing we're going to do to you." Zaku declared cockily. "So are you gonna come down or what?"

Neji straitened up. "It looks like there's no need."

Any further questions were halted when a strong presence of potent and tainted chakra was detected by everybody.

"What is that?" Chouji asked.

"It's Sasuke." Shikamaru replied, shocked at the sight of their year-mate covered in weird marks which were rapidly spreading across his body.

"His chakra!" Ino exclaimed. "It's changed!"

No one moved as Sasuke approached the others surveying the clearing and everyone in it – the malevolent and dark chakra seemed to suffocate them.

"Sakura" the Uchiha spoke, his cold dark voice sending chills down everybody's backs "who did this to you?"

* * *

"I'll get some wood for the fire." Sasuke stated.

"I'll go catch some fish." Naruto said at the same time.

Both boys were gone before Sakura could get in a word edgewise, so with a sigh she started to make a fire pit and set up camp. It was four days into the second test and two days since Naruto and Sasuke had woken up from whatever that snake-man did to them.

Once the sound genin had been defeated (conceding their scroll to Sasuke in order to not be beat into bloody pulps) Naruto had finally woken up. The blond had been very confused as to what his team was doing in the clearing surrounded by Lee's team and team 10 when the last thing he remembered was that long-tongued freaky snake guy using some sort of seal on him. Despite demanding answers, his teammates all but ignored him – Sasuke was lost in thought over the "gift" given to him and what it could mean for himself and his brother and Sakura was torn between relief and worry over Sasuke's condition and was ever mindful of the promise she had made to not reveal anything about Orochimaru's seal on Sasuke to the blue-eyed boy.

Finally Chouji filled in the confused blond and told him of the Oto team and Sasuke's dark chakra and behaviour. Upon hearing that the only reason team 7 was still alive and whole was because of the other leaf genins interference, Naruto had offered the scroll that the Sound team had relinquished to them and the scroll that he had summoned beforehand to the other teams for their troubles. Lee's team had declined stating that they already had both scrolls (and Lee had fervently argued being 'paid' for his duty to a fellow comrade and youthful friend) but team 10 had accepted.

Since then Sasuke and Naruto had barely said three words to the other – Sasuke was mad that Naruto gave team 10 the sound scroll and that the blond had miraculously got two scrolls on his own (the first one which Naruto had offered to Lee's team and another he had gotten just recently with the same spell once Sakura had told Naruto about how Orochimaru had destroyed their original scroll. Although the second time Naruto used the summoning spell had been much harder; whatever that freaky snake guy did to him threw off his spell/jutsu casting), and Naruto was mad at Sasuke's incredulity that the blond had gotten the scrolls needed and that Sasuke and Sakura hadn't planned to tell him about the curse mark and wanted to keep everything about Orochimaru's and the sond genins' attack a secret from him.

Eventually the two male members of team 7 returned and the three pre-teens settled in for their meal. Things were mostly silent until Sakura decided to speak.

"I think we're almost at the tower – do you think we should set up camp and leave first thing in the morning or try to make it tonight?"

"That's if we should even have the proper scrolls," Sasuke said with a glower. "For all we know they're counterfeits that either the dobe made or got tricked into stealing."

"What did you say?!" Naruto yelled. "Of course they're real! Just because you're jealous that I got two scrolls when you lost ours to that snake-freak doesn't –"

Anything else Naruto was going to say was interrupted by a fourth party.

"In case you rookies forgot, you're in the middle of a dangerous exam." The familiar voice of Kabuto spoke as the grey-haired teen emerged from the foliage. "I'd keep my voices down if I were you; or at the very least be more aware of my surroundings."

All three pre-teens quickly leapt to their feet in a defensive formation. How could Kabuto have sneaked up on them like that?

"What do you want?" Sasuke demanded.

"Relax; I'm not here for a scroll." The bespectacled genin stated. "I already have all the scrolls I need."

Sure enough Kabuto brandished two scrolls; an earth scroll and a heaven scroll.

"If you're not after our scrolls, what do you want?" Sakura asked.

"Actually, I want your protection." Kabuto admitted sheepishly. "My teammates and I had split up to find the scrolls we needed with plans to meet up at the tower. When I spotted you guys I thought I could try for an alliance – we are all Konoha ninjas after all and I'd rather not try to get to the tower on my own with the two scrolls."

"Why should we help you?" Sasuke asked with a frown. "It sounds like you just want to use us without giving us anything in return."

"Well with me helping out we would have an advantage over any teams that tried to attack us from our numbers alone," Kabuto stated. "And since I have more experience both as a ninja and as a previous examinee in the chunnin exams, I can be very helpful. And I promise to help you guys get any scroll you need on the way to the tower."

Team 7 processed his words for a bit before telling the older boy to stay where he was and retreating to form a group huddle.

"So what do you think?" Sasuke asked his teammates.

"I don't like it." Naruto declared. "I don't like him. If it was one of our year-mates or someone from bushy-brows team, then it'd be different. Besides, he gives me the heebie-jeebies."

Sakura frowned a little at Naruto's statement – since when had the blond been so picky on who he helped. As annoying as Naruto could be, there was no denying the generous heart the blue-eyed boy possessed.

Ignoring the heebie-jeebies comment, Sakura said her piece. "Well he did help us at the beginning of the chunnin exams when he told us about Gaara and his info cards. And he is a fellow leaf-ninja. Maybe we should give him a chance; if he does try something we outnumber him and can always ditch him."

"What do you think?" Naruto asked his dark-haired teammate.

"I agree with you – I don't trust him. He probably only wants to get info on us for his info cards, and if he was foolish enough to separate from his teammates then he ought to suffer the consequences of his decision. And without us the likelihood of one less team to compete against in the third round of the chunnin exams increases."

With two against one, Naruto and Sasuke turned back to the silver-haired genin to give their response. Though Sakura felt bad about the decision, she was too happy that Naruto and Sasuke were talking to each other again – and even agreeing with each other – to try and change their minds.

* * *

"Kabuto-san!" Sakura said surprised. "You passed!"

It was about 20 hours or so since team 7 had made it to the tower now freshly showered and awakened from a good rest and they were eager to meet up with the other finalists who passed the second test of the chunnin exams.

"Yes," Kabuto replied smiling. "My team and I just got here a few minutes ago – just in time before the end of the test. It looks like I was fine without your team's help."

"Sorry about that," the pink-haired girl replied a little ashamed. "But we didn't know you all that well and it is an exam with every team for themselves..."

"Don't worry about it." The bespectacled teen said. "I understand. All that's important is the fact that both our teams made it."

All the passing teams lined up in a large room where the Hokage, their sensei's, the proctors and several other high ranking leaf shinobis were waiting on a stage-like platform at the front of the room.

Naruto tuned out the Hokage's speech on the origins of the chunnin exams as he looked over at the qualifying teams who passed the second test. There were 7 teams in total; the three rookie leaf ninja teams, Bushy-Brow's team, Kabuto's team, the freaky sand guy's team and the sound team.

"-unfortunately since the third part of the chunnin exam is a tournament and a public affair, there is a limit to how many participants can qualify." The Third continued with his explanations. "Therefore we will now be having a preliminary round to decide who will fight in the final stage of these chunnin exams."

Naruto's jaw dropped in shock; after all that they've been through and they still had to fight for their right to make it on to the final test?!

"If anyone is too injured or is unable to fight for any reason, now is the time to drop out." The Sandaime concluded.

Naruto almost snorted out loud at the thought of anyone dropping out after suffering through that horrid written test and five days in the Forest of Death. But to his surprise, a hand was raised.

"I concede." Kabuto announced. "I am out of chakra."

"Very well," Hayate, the proctor for the preliminaries replied. "You are exempt from the rest of the exam. Please make your way to the back of the room and someone will escort you back through the forest to the village."

Nodding his head in understanding, Kabuto spared a quick word to his teammates before walking to the doors. But he had only made it a few short feet before a loud exclamation stopped him in his tracks.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Kabuto looked back at Uzumaki Naruto who of course had been the one to yell so loudly that he grabbed the attention of everybody in the room. The blond stood boldly ignorant of everyone's gaze as he pointed at the retreating grey-haired teen accusingly. Kabuto fixed a fake sheepish smile on his face before answering.

"I'm afraid that the journey to the tower has tired me out greatly; I did have to go quite far on my own after all. I'm out of chakra so there's no use trying to fight in these preliminary matches since I'll just lose anyway." The bespectacled silver-haired teen said. He was happy to note that the pink haired girl looked guilty at that pronouncement. Pleased that they seemed to have bought his excuse, the spy made to leave once again.

Kabuto had only managed to take two steps before Naruto's voice rang through the air a second time.

"You no good traitor!"

Once again everyone's attention was on them and Kabuto had to use every bit of skill and experience he possessed not to show his panic as he felt the eyes of everyone in the room (including the heavy gaze of the Hokage and the assessing one of Ibiki) land on him. Even still, his heart beat picked up a bit and some sweat started trickling down the back of his neck. Being called a traitor was one of the worst insults in their world where loyalty to your village and comrades (especially in Konoha) was everything. To be caught here and now would be disastrous.

"I don't know what you're talking about Naruto-kun." Kabuto stated calmly, wishing the boy wouldn't make such a scene and just shut up before the situation could get any worse. "How could I possibly be a traitor?"

"You're betraying the Leaf even as we speak!" Naruto accused.

By now even the sound and sand ninja in the room who were all aware of Kabuto's role were getting nervous (except Gaara of course who really didn't care). The teenaged spy was extremely aware of the Hokage and other high-ranked shinobi watching the by-play between him and Naruto with intensity.

"I don't know wh-"

"You're a traitor to the will of fire!" Naruto continued, cutting off Kabuto's reply. "After coming all this way, surviving 5 days in the forest of death, getting the two scrolls your team needed on your own, and then making your way to the tower by yourself; and you give up _now_?! How could you go through all that stuff in the first two tasks to just give up?! How can you leave your teammates like this and still call yourself a shinobi of Konoha?!"

Kabuto almost slumped in relief; so that was why the orange-clad genin was calling him a traitor – for giving up now. His cover wasn't blown yet. "I'm afraid that I'm out of chakra though; there's no way I can fight in this state let alone win. I'm sorry to disappoint you like this Naruto, but sometimes a ninja must retreat in order to fight another day."

"Bull shit!" Naruto retorted. "Sure, a ninja sometimes needs to retreat but this isn't one of those times! You can stand can't you? You can still punch and kick and fight. You could always surrender during the fight if it's too much, but you're giving up before you even try!"

"Naruto." Sasuke spoke putting a restraining arm on his teammate. "It is Kabuto's choice whether he continues or not. Let him leave if he wants to."

"You don't deseve to be a Konoha shinobi." The blond muttered as he gave one last dirty look to the older genin before turning his back on the quitter.

Kabuto was just relieved that everyone was more or less ignoring him now that Naruto's speech was finished. Silently thanking Sasuke, Kabuto continued towards the outside hall as calmly as possible.

"Is it just you?" The awaiting chunnin asked as the grey-haired teen finally exited the large arena-like room where the preliminaries were taking place.

"Yes." Kabuto replied sheepishly, using his mask of weak genin to its full extent. "I really wanted to continue, but I'm all out of chakra. I feel like I'm going to collapse any minute!"

"In that case you won't mind if I come with you."

Both Kabuto and the chunnin looked over to see the imposing figure of Ibiki.

"Ibiki-san!" the chunnin said shocked. "Aren't you supposed to be watching over the exam?"

"There's a change in plans," the scarred man said, never taking his eyes off of the grey-haired genin. "Anko will inform me of what happens in these matches while I go back to the village to check on some things. And since you are going too, I thought I might as well accompany you."

"Are you sure sempai?" the chunnin asked. "If this kid's as drained as he says he is, it might be a slow journey through the forest and I wouldn't want to hold you up from your duties."

"Nonsense," Ibiki replied with a creepy grin directed at Kabuto. "I insist."

* * *

A/N: Yeah, so Kabuto really hates Naruto now. Heh heh heh. Anyway, sorry for the long wait; I'll try and get the next chapter out sooner.

**Outtake! **

"The next preliminary match is between..."

All the hopeful chunnins watched the computer eagerly to see who would fight who.

"Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuuga Hinata!"

Naruto stopped mid-exclamation. He was happy to finally fight, but he hadn't wanted to fight Hinata, who was so quiet and nice. The only thing worse than fighting Hinata would be to fight Sakura-chan!

As for Hinata, she was using all her willpower not to faint. Her, fight Naruto? Was this a dream come true or a living nightmare? On the one hand it was an honour to fight her inspiration, her hidden strength. And she was given an opportunity to get close to Naruto and make him take note of her. But on the other hand, she didn't think she had it in herself to hurt her Naruto-kun.

They both made their way down to main floor, their unease obvious.

"Begin!" Hayate said, giving the signal for the match to start.

Naruto and Hinata both looked to each other without moving out of their fighting stances. Then Naruto suddenly straightened into a more casual pose.

"Look Hinata-chan," Naruto said. "you're really nice and I don't really want to fight you, and I don't think you really want to fight me. But we both want to be chunnin and I won't go back on my word! So let's both try our best and have the best spar ever!"

The blond finished off his impassioned speech with a blindingly bright heart-warming smile for his fellow comrade.

"..."

*Thud*

Naruto looked up in surprise. "Heh? Hinata?"

Hayate walked over to the red-faced and unconscious Hyuuga heiress and nudged her gently.

"Winner – Uzumaki Naruto!"

Naruto scratched the back of his head in confusion amid the stunned silence of the room.

"Ummm, what just happened?"


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Long time no update, huh?

* * *

"I see you got my message." The Third Hokage said aloud to his apparently empty office. "Though I do wonder what took you so long to the tower."

"Things to do, people to see." A man with long spiky white hair replied, stepping out into the open.

"People to see indeed." The older man said with a chuckle. "According to my sources you spent the majority of the day by the women's bath houses."

"If you want the next installment of my world famous Icha Icha series to be released any time soon I need time to do the research." The other man replied matter-of-factly. He was more than used to people scolding him and his perverted ways, and it had even less effect when he was scolded by a fellow pervert. It also didn't help that the man was not only was he well aware that he was probably the biggest pervert in the world, but that he was proud of that fact as well.

The older man just sighed. "Your breach on women's privacy wasn't the only thing I heard about you; I had thought that you had sworn never to take another student Jiraiya."

Jiraiya barely held back his flinch at the painful memories that remark brought up. "Yes, well you also told me that my godson had died with his mother."

"You know why I had to mislead you and the rest of the world," the Sandaime said with remorse. "His father had too many enemies and the times where too turbulent for Naruto's true heritage to be revealed. We had enough trouble dealing with our depleted forces and destroyed parts of the village to worry about the extra protection needed for Naruto and the village as a whole if word got out of the Yellow Flash having a son." Sarutobi explained.

"But they named me godfather!" Jiraiya yelled. "I promised to take care of him, and instead I thought he died leaving him to fend for himself for 12 years. You could have at least told _me_about Naruto; no one else had to know."

"Jiraiya," the older man spoke softly, voice saturated with understanding. "If I had given Naruto to you to raise, everyone would have realised right away whose son it was. And I know how much you like to wander; being stuck in Konoha raising a baby would have made you go stir crazy. And it would have been far too dangerous for you to take Naruto with you. Besides, we both know that you weren't ready to raise Naruto; you were still grieving the death of your student whom you loved like a son. You would have done Naruto no favors to raise him in an environment filled with regret and expectations based on his father."

Silence prevailed for a while, Jiraiya being unable to refute his old sensei's statement.

"But that's all in the past." Sarutobi commented. "Tell me what news you have for me from your travels."

"Nothing much has been happening around the world, except that Akatsuki is starting to act up," Jiraiya replied. "But I already told you that in my last report. Besides, it should be you telling me what's new; I doubt that you called me back to the village without a good reason."

The Sandaime gave a small puff on his pipe before responding to the unasked question. "Orochimaru is up to something. He already made a move during the second part of the chunnin exam, giving Uchiha Sasuke the curse mark, and we have three confirmed spies, thanks to Naruto."

"What?!" Jiraiya yelled. "What happened? What do you mean thanks to Naruto?"

The older man chuckled lightly before explaining. "Naruto got into an argument with another genin both at the start of the chunnin exam and at the end of the second test. Due to the nature of the arguments and the fact that this particular genin had a rather odd track record, Ibiki decided to question him. Unfortunately what we had thought was at first a somewhat innocent mid-chunnin level spy was in fact jounin level and deeply involved with Orochimaru, therefore Kabuto was able to give us the slip before we could fully interrogate him and find out Orochimaru's plans. His teammates, while also traitors, weren't nearly as skilled or as knowledgeable and weren't able to fill us in even though we still have them in custody."

"Hmmmmmmm....." Jiraiya hummed in thought. Knowing his old teammate, his plan could be anything from stealing a scroll to a full-out war; but whatever the plan, Orochimaru never did anything half-assed without taking all possibilities into account. Which meant that there were probably more spies and quite possibly Orochimaru himself running around doing who knows what in the village. But on the other hand, Orochimaru was never really the patient type which could prove to be an advantage. "So does the brat even know that he ousted a traitor?"

"No; he just thought that Kabuto had a poor attitude for a Konoha ninja." Sarutobi replied, amusement colouring his voice. "I don't want Orochimaru's actions in the second test or Kabuto's loyalties known to anyone below chunnin rank; there's no need to make it obvious that something is wrong and that we're expecting Orochimaru to act at any moment."

"If you say so," Jiraiya conceded. Though he knew his old sensei had a point; they may have a better chance at catching the snake-summoner earlier if they are careful not to scare the traitor and his minions into a higher sense of caution. And knowing the way Orochimaru liked to make a large production of everything, anything he has planned will probably take place during the third part of the chunnin exam where there's sure to be a large crowd full of innocent civilians and he can make a dramatic entrance. "Well, I better get back to the brat; I had promised to meet him for some training about ten minutes ago and the kid is probably in the middle of a tantrum as we speak. See you later old man!"

Sarutobi wasn't given time to refute the comment about being old as the toad hermit jumped out the window and ran jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Argue as he might about not wanting to take another pupil and the horror that is Uzumaki Naruto, the Sandaime for one hadn't seen his old student act so lively in years.

* * *

_To Edgar Polgins, Editor in Chief of the Daily Prophet;_

_On the December 12__th__ edition of your newspaper, an article titled "Care of Magical Creatures a Real Life and Death Course Thanks to Dangerous Magical Creature Teacher" written by your top reporter Rita Skeeter was published. In it Miss Skeeter tells how Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwart's Care of Magical Creatures professor was seen setting dangerous beasts on the students and reveling in his half-giant ancestry of seeking pain and destruction on innocents. The fact that you not only allowed this piece to be published in your paper, but you proudly displayed such an article on your front page shows that not only to you and your staff know nothing about proper journalism, but that your tripe of a newspaper is so worthless as to not even be useful as toilet-paper. _

_Let me point out a few facts as a real witness to the events the article in question speaks about. _

_One: In your published article you made it sound as if Hagrid himself had enraged the beast and then set it loose on the students; which was most definitely not the case. Hagrid taught all the students, including one Draco Malfoy, the do's and don'ts of dealing with hyppogriffs. The fact that Mr. Malfoy chose not to heed that lesson and do the most important don't – insult a hippogriff to its face – is his own fault and he was lucky that it happened where Hagrid was capable of selflessly stepping between himself and the enraged creature, thus saving Mr. Malfoy's life from his own stupidity. _

_Two: You speak of Hagrid's ancestry as if it's a given fact and you speak continuously of his supposed violent side and need to see blood spilt. I may only be a third year but anyone who has spoken to Professor Hagrid for more than three minutes would know that he is no more violent than a rampaging moth; that's to say not at all. I'm sure all the signatures at the bottom of this letter of those who agree with me and this letter should be more than enough to prove my point. And if it's not, well I'm sure that you are getting plenty of more mail from former Hogwart's students on your despicable article slandering Hagrid's character._

_Three: You often pointed out the fact that Hagrid had been expelled for releasing a dangerous magical creature in the school in his youth and the fact that he isn't qualified to teach due to his lack of Hogwart's degree. Had you or your reporter done the most minimal amount or research possible, you'd have known that Hagrid had already been proven innocent of the crime that had caused him to be expelled and is currently working after hours with the other professors to earn his Hogwarts diploma. And despite his lack of degree, Hagrid is still the leading expert in magical creatures; people from around the world (including aurors and dragon keepers) often ask Hagrid for advice or favors with magical creatures they come by. Just because it isn't written on a fancy piece of paper doesn't mean he isn't more than experienced and qualified enough for his job. _

_I must ask if the whole wizarding world is this unreliable and biased based on the fact that it seems as if no one has ever thought to question Miss Skeeter's articles and methods. How did someone who bases their articles on half-truths and wild speculation ever become hired as a reporter to the wizarding world's most read newspaper, let alone be their top reporter? Suddenly I find the fact that a mad wizard single-handedly brought the wizarding world to its knees based on a prejudice only 20% of the population share far more understandable if this is how the general public deals with such overt slander and bias – they just spare a moment of anger and doubt before nodding their heads and accepting whatever they are told. _

_I demand that you not only retract that article, but you publish a public apology to Hagrid and others you have slandered and lied about for the sake of making a few extra galleons. I also demand that you start taking your job seriously and only publish stories with reliable sources and information; you are supposed to find and relay truth to the public not cheap stories without an ounce of reality within them. _

_Thinking of Returning to the Muggle World for Good,_

_Harry Potter. _

After reading it one last time, Harry magically made a duplicate to keep for his own records before sending off the letter with a school owl. Harry knew that his demands stated in the letter wouldn't be met; if the editor had cared at all about the accuracy of the articles published in his paper he would have fired Skeeter long before now. No, this letter would probably just increase the vendetta the Daily Prophet had against him ever since he had slighted their top reporter. But that was fine by Harry; he was keeping a copy of every article slandering him and the letters and responses to the staff of the Daily Prophet – perhaps one day soon they would serve their purpose. Until then, he would just have to be patient.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes sluggishly, still groggy from just waking up.

"Ugh..." the blond groaned, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He was sore all over and he couldn't seem to remember how he got like that.

"Finally awake are you?" A familiar voice drawled lazily.

"Shikamaru!" Naruto exclaimed seeing his friend sitting at his bedside playing solitaire with a giant fruit basket beside him. "What are you doing here? And what am I doing here?" Naruto asked as he finally noticed the crisp white surrounding and sanitary smells of the hospital.

"I heard that a giant frog dropped you off at the doors." Shikamaru replied. "You're here since you were suffering from chakra exhaustion. I don't know what you're doing to get ready for your fight, but it must be something big; I didn't even know it was possible for you to run out energy judging by the way you're always bouncing off the walls."

Blue eyes widened as Naruto remembered what had cause him to be in this condition; finally summoning the toad boss and stubbornly clinging to his back for hours on end in order to gain the summons respect and cooperation due to a bet they made. But the brief flash of pride at staying on the mighty toad's back for so long as to win the bet followed by the sense of gratitude for Jiraiya for teaching him how to summon and walk on water after Kakashi left him disappeared when he remembered just what the pervert had done to ensure Naruto summoned the large toad.

"That jerk!" Naruto yelled, jumping out of bed in righteous anger. "He pushed me off a cliff! I could have died!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow – if being thrown off a cliff was how Naruto was training for the last stage of the chunnin exams, well he was sure becoming a chunnin wasn't worth it. The lazy boy did make a mental note however to treat Asuma-sensei to a free meal at his favourite restaurant or something for being a far more agreeable and sane teacher than whoever Naruto was stuck with.

"So training is going well for you then?" Shikamaru asked, interrupting Naruto's angry rant of what he was going to do to his teacher once he got his hands on him.

"Yeah, I guess." Naruto replied thinking back to what he had learned so far. It wasn't much; Ero-sennin was more concerned with peeping on woman than training him. But it wasn't all that bad; at the very least Naruto was thankful for Jiraiya agreeing to train him at all and for negating whatever that freaky snake guy had done to him in the second part of the exam that screwed with his chakra control. If only the old pervert would be more serious in training him; why did he always get the senseis that believed in leaving their students to their own devices?! Naruto couldn't even go to his usual early morning training sessions with Gai-sensei since his first opponent would be one of Gai's students and Naruto thought it would be mean to make Gai choose between them. This meant that Konoha's number one surprising ninja was training solo more now than ever. Thankfully he still got tips and spells from Harry who put a lot of his side projects on hold in order to find useful spells Naruto could use.

"That's good." Shikamaru replied.

"So why are you here?" Naruto asked his lazy friend curiously.

"Chouji got a bit carried away in training. He'll only be here for a few hours at most, but I thought I'd visit while I'm waiting anyway."

"You're training with Chouji and your team? But it's an individual fight and you're the only one competing in the third part of the exams from your team anyway."

"So?" the lazy genius countered. "Just because they aren't competing doesn't mean that Ino or Chouji shouldn't train. They still have to keep their skills sharp and keep improving if they want to become chunnin in the future."

Naruto nodded at the sound logic and idly wondered what Sakura was doing to train since their sensei was with Sasuke. Maybe Kakashi had set up a tutor for her like he had for him (granted that Kakashi's intended tutor hadn't quite worked out, and that Naruto had wanted to train with Kakashi himself, but at least he found another tutor for the blond, right?).

"Well, I feel tons better now so I think I'm going to back to training." Naruto stated matter-of-factly. He wasn't one to sit still for long and obviously he was no longer suffering from chakra exhaustion.

"You just can't leave Naruto," Shikamaru sighed, wondering how he could have been friends with such an energetic and troublesome guy. "You have to wait for a medic-nin to do a final check-up to see if you have even recovered enough chakra to train with."

"But Shikamaruuuuu!" Naruto whined, face contorting into a miserable pout. "Who knows how long it'll take a medic-nin to come check on me! And I'm so boored!"

The lazy genius barely resisted groaning out loud. Naruto may be a loyal caring person who would do anything and everything for a friend in need, but it was times like this that Shikamaru had to wonder if it was worth it. The problem was that Naruto had a very short attention span and an infinite amount of energy. Thus the blond always had to be occupied – always. Because whenever Naruto got bored, he would make/find something to do, which inevitably led to more trouble than the pony-tailed ninja thought possible. Knowing from previous experience that it was better to suggest an activity before the blue-eyed preteen got another of his crazy and random ideas that he just had to try in his head, Shikamaru desperately tried to think of a way to entertain Naruto with minimal property damage.

"We can visit your friend Lee." Shikamaru said. Seeing that he now had Naruto's attention Shikamaru gave an inward sigh of relief. "He's still recovering from what that Sand ninja did to him. Come on, I'll show you to his room."

It didn't take long for the duo to find their fellow genin's room – especially since Naruto all but dragged Shikamaru in his excitement to both visit his friend and leave his boring bed. But all of Naruto's happiness seemed to drain from him as he finally entered his friend's hospital room.

It seemed wrong for the always eager and energetic Lee to be so pale and still. He was obviously on some heavy medication, keeping him asleep and unaware of his injuries and pain as the medic-nins tried to reform the bloody and crushed limbs into a properly working arm and leg once again.

Neither Shikamaru nor Naruto knew how long they spent just looking at their fellow genin's injured form, but the sombre silence was broken when a malevolent presence entered. Both boys turned around, shocked to find the same creepy Sand ninja who had crushed Lee's right arm and leg mere feet from the injured boy.

"G-Gaara..." Naruto murmured, stunned at the other's sudden appearance. But the red-head ignored the other two and focused his attentions on the bed-ridden Lee. Shikamaru and Naruto were both too stunned to do anything but stare wide-eyed at the other boy, until they noticed the sand swirling ominously.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, taking a step forward. "What do you think you're doing?!"

The red-head continued to ignore the other two as his sand started to surround the injured genin, but with a few quick hand-seals from Shikamaru, Gaara was trapped before he could do anything.

"Release me." Gaara commanded monotonously as he was forced to copy the shadow user's movements and backed away from the bed. "I will kill you if you get in my way."

Both Naruto and Shikamaru suppressed a shudder at the way Gaara spoke – as if he was emotionally detached and wouldn't so much as blink before killing them.

"Not until you explain just what the hell you were doing!" Naruto yelled, angry at the other for daring to hurt Lee again and while he was defenceless as well.

"I was going to kill him."

Again that statement was delivered in the same apathetic matter-of-fact tone.

"What, crippling him in the exam wasn't good enough for you?" Shikamaru asked, fighting to keep his anger about the inhuman cruelty the Sand genin was displaying out of his voice. "You needed to come back and finish the job?! Do you have a personal grudge against him or something?"

"No," Gaara replied.

"But, why do you want to kill him then?!" Naruto asked, flabbergasted by the Sand ninja. "And what kind of person tries to kill an unconscious, injured kid in his own hospital bed?! You've got to be sick in the head or something! Well, if you want to hurt bushy-brows you'll have to go through us first!"

"Shut up Naruto!" Shikamaru hissed, struggling to keep Gaara bound in his shadow possession jutsu. Naruto's confrontational manner was only making the red-head angrier and more eager to break from the lazy-nin's technique. "You saw him; he fights like he's a demon or something. Don't provoke him!"

"Well, he might fight like a demon," Naruto retorted, not bothering to keep his voice down like Shikamaru, allowing Gaara to hear. "But I've got a real one inside of me. He doesn't scare me!"

"A demon, huh?" the red-head asked, now focussing all his attention on Naruto. "I know all about real demons..."

* * *

Harry calmly walked up the marble steps of Gringotts Bank, checking his watch once more to ensure he was early for his appointment with his accountant. The street was pretty empty, most people still on holiday or at least staying inside away from the cold. Harry however was taking advantage of this time to spend his first Christmas break away from Hogwarts to organise some of his affairs and get the wheels in motion for a few of his half-thought out ideas.

It didn't take long for Harry to be ushered into his accountant's (a goblin named Orjot) office and for the two occupants to settle down to business.

"You asked to meet about goblin made weapons, correct?" Orjot spoke as he shuffled around some of his papers, taking out the letter Harry had sent earlier that week.

"Yes; I heard that goblin craftsmanship can't be beat, and with dark wizards trying to kill me all the time I thought it would be best to have a dependable weapon or two with me at all times." Harry replied. After realising why Gryffindor's sword was the only thing able to cut the basilisk scales, Harry had been thinking about this plan of action. He had considered just packing up Gryffindor's sword, but decided against it since it would feel too much like he was stealing (it was an ancient object rich with history and he couldn't in good conscience keep it with him knowing that he might bring it to Naruto's world never to be returned) and neither he nor Naruto knew how to use it properly (swordsmanship became as much of an obscure practice in the wizarding world as in the muggle one and in Naruto's world the swords they used were quite different). In the end Harry and Naruto had decided on a weapon each that they thought would be useful in the future, even if they weren't adept at it currently.

Orjot leaned back in contemplation. "That is true no doubt; however there is no point in requesting a goblin made item if you cannot wield it properly. Also, the cost is very high; we don't like too many of our creations to be out of our hands, especially if they are in the hands of wizards. Too many times in the past we would have given wizards the items they commissioned and yet they never returned it back to us!"

"Return...?" Harry asked. "Do you mean I can only rent and not buy goblin-made items?"

"Of course not," Orjot replied. "As the purchaser, you buy whatever you had commissioned. But once you have no use for them they are to be returned to us; they aren't to be heirlooms or gifts for others."

"I see." Harry said. While he was disappointed that he couldn't give anything he bought in a will or something, he could see the practicality of the exchange; not only do the goblins regain their items, forcing other wizards to re-pay and re-commission for the same object that might have been given to them but this way the goblins have more control over who gets to benefit from their metal-melding talents.

"So, just what did you want made?" Orjot asked.

Harry brandished a slip of parchment with some writing at the goblin. Orjot took the paper and read over the request.

"Just buying one goblin made item is expensive, and you have requested four. I don't even know what you plan to do with the last two items." Orjot commented with a frown. "You don't have enough funds in your accounts for these; maybe for only one item but definitely not all four."

Harry stared at the goblin in contemplative silence for a moment. "Well, could I pay for it later? I assume that they'll take a while to make anyway, so couldn't I pay the rest of the costs when I pick the items up?"

"I'm afraid not." Orjot countered. "Gringotts is a business where time is money. We goblins don't have time to make your order if you don't have the money to pay for it."

Harry sat back thoughtfully. While he knew that money didn't grow on trees or that his inheritance would last forever, he had thought that it would have been more than enough for his all of his ideas and plans. Granted, he still had the considerable amount of gold he had stored in one of his shrunken trunks he carried around at all times, but Harry wanted that for emergency money to be used only after the whole strained-inter-realm-bond thing with Naruto was resolved.

Harry's eyes finally gleamed with an idea. Sure it was a bit (or a lot) of a gamble, but sometimes the risks were worth the outcomes.

"How about a deal." Harry proposed. "You have the items I requested made and take all the gold in my vault as down payment. When I get the rest of the money to pay for the items you can sell them to me. But if I don't have the money by the time I graduate from Hogwarts you can keep all the items and the down payment."

"No deal." Orjot replied. "It will only take about three months to make the items, and to have your order sitting around taking up space for over 4 years is preposterous. Three months. I will give you the three months it takes to make your items for you to get the rest of the money."

"Three months?!" Harry exclaimed. "I know my down payment is less than half of the grand total, but it's no small amount! I'm already risking the rest of my inheritance on getting the money I need in 4 years; how you expect anyone, let alone a thirteen year-old who'll be stuck at Hogwarts, to get that amount of money in three months is beyond me. Give me 2 years instead."

"One year." Orjot responded. "Final offer. That way you'll even get a whole summer to scrounge up the money needed."

While the deal wasn't ideal, Harry knew that the goblin was serious about the 'final offer' part. And if Harry's gamble did pay off, he'd hopefully get the money needed with time to spare.

"Deal."

* * *

"Thanks for seeing me Madam Bones." Harry said sincerely as he sat down at the Ministry of Magic's Head of Law Enforcement's office.

"No problem Mr. Potter." A middle-aged woman giving off a no-nonsense and a strict but fair vibe replied. "My niece told me about the letter you sent to the Daily Prophet a few weeks ago; I can't help but agree with your thoughts. I'm not surprised you came to see me considering what the Daily Prophet is publishing these days. I'm no stranger to their slander, but my faith in the Daily Prophet has plummeted even further with their recent actions. It's one thing to go after an established government or a full-grown adult, but to attack a twelve year old child with such hurtful lies is purely despicable!"

Harry let out a small smile, glad that she was on his side. "Can you tell me what legal actions I can take against the Daily Prophet and Skeeter in particular?" Harry asked.

The monocle wearing woman sighed. "Unfortunately there isn't a lot you can do; the Daily Prophet and the ministry have a not-so-secret under the table deal where the ministry has a say as to what can and can't be released to the public in exchange for protection against those they lie about when they are unable to publish truth. In this case you are guilty until proven innocent, so unless you have undeniable truth that the Prophet is working against you, your case will be dismissed faster than you can say "unfair"."

Harry nodded to show his understanding; that information wasn't really surprising, especially since everything he knew about the ministry (most notably the scandals) he had learnt from students with relatives who worked for the ministry rather than the newspaper. And if it was easy to stop the slander than the Daily Prophet wouldn't do it to such a degree.

"I think I'd like to make a formal complaint with the intention to sue anyway." Harry declared.

"Very well; I'll get the paper work needed and help you fill it out but the only thing that'll come from it will be a letter in two weeks or so saying that your case was found to be faulty and was dismissed." Bones replied.

"I know, but I don't want to just sit back and do nothing." Harry answered. And besides, a paper trail couldn't hurt.

After about half an hour Harry decided to break the comfortable silence while Madam Bones worked on the paper work for Harry's lawsuit.

"Madam Bones, I wanted to know more about Sirius. I mean, he was officially pardoned and Fudge made a huge speech about how I would get the compensation money for being wrongly imprisoned in Azkaban for a decade but I never got it. I didn't really care before; my inheritance is more than enough for me to live on until I graduate but since I'm here anyway I thought I'd ask."

"Just because you're here huh?" Bones said with a knowing smile. "More like just because they are in with the Daily Prophet and it will give you another angle on your lawsuit."

Harry grinned unrepentantly, knowing better than to deny the accusation.

"I can't say I can blame you though," Bones commented. "And it will be hard for them to throw that accusation out of court; the minister did promise you money quite publicly. The only problem I have with your plan is where the ministry will find the money to pay you; Fudge depends a lot on Lucius Malfoy's 'advice' even concerning the ministry budget. You won't believe how much they've cut back from my department saying that with You-Know-Who gone there isn't as much need for aurors. Hah! More like they want more gold to line their own pockets and what better way than to cut back from people who would stop them from doing it!"

It was obvious that Bones had been holding back on her anger and bitterness for the ministry and the way it was run for quite some time. But that would only work in Harry's favor right now and what was at first a hastily thought out idea began to form into a calculating plan.

"Madam Bones, let me be honest with you. I plan to sue the Daily Prophet and probably the ministry – several times if need be – and shake things up a bit. However I think that if I'm successful I can make your, and other honest ministry workers like Mr. Weasley, lives easier. Would evidence of the Ministry/Daily Prophet conspiring be enough to get Fudge sacked? And if so, would you be able to ensure someone competent took his place? Would you be able to help me in this?"

The older woman peered over at the young boy in thought; she had worked too long in law enforcement to not know that Harry Potter was far more mature and knowledgeable than others his age and that the boy in question had some sort of plan up his sleeve. If it were anyone else she wouldn't have listened; they would have either had too many connections and untold parties who their loyalties and interests were tied too or they had too few and thus their ideas would never take off. Harry was in the unique position to have no ties/loyalties due to his young age and yet still have the ear of the world due to his Boy-Who-Lived status. With a smile that spoke of impeding revenge and justice Amelia Bones decided to take a chance.

"Well, the first thing you'll need-"

* * *

Naruto shuffled his feet, uncharacteristically depressed and downtrodden. He had woken up today (the all-important day of the third competition of the chunnin exam) full of enthusiasm and vigour, ready to show the world just what Uzumaki Naruto was made of – but then it had all disappeared the more the blond overheard villagers and visiting dignitaries alike speak of his upcoming match against Hyuuga Neji as if it were a done deal and like he had no hope of winning. And even if he beat Neji, there would be Gaara to contend with – another demon container like him, though one who had an even worse life and was extremely unbalanced.

Usually such talk wouldn't bother him – he was more than used to ignoring slander and being the underdog – but the combination of nerves, the knowledge of how public this fight would be and the fact that Naruto didn't really know anyone who would be solely in his corner watching (Harry was in another dimension, the Sandaime wouldn't be able to show favoritism, Kiba and Chouji were more likely to cheer for their own teammate (Shino and Shikamaru respectively), Iruka and Konohamaru were in school, who knew where the hell Jiraiya was, and even Kakashi and Sakura would cheer for Sasuke over him), meant that Naruto was no longer so eager to make his way to the duelling arena.

The blond leisurely made his way to team 7's usual training ground, hoping to bump into Sasuke or Kakashi for some incentive or something, but it was empty. Well, almost empty.

"Oh, hey Hinata." Naruto greeted the shy girl half-heartedly.

"N-Naruto-kun." Hinata greeted back with a small nod and blush. "Aren't you supposed to be at the arena soon?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied. "But I still have some time left. What are you doing out here? Aren't you going to watch the tournament?"

"O-of course," Hinata responded. "Kiba-kun is already saving me a seat so we can cheer Shino on together."

There was a small pause as Naruto become lost in his melancholy thoughts and Hinata scrounged up her courage. "A-are you alright Naruto?" the shy girl asked. "You seem kind of sad..."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, torn from his thoughts. "Oh, yeah I'm alright. Just kind of nervous I suppose..." the blond finished with an awkward chuckle. "I mean, Neji was the top rookie last year and has had a whole extra year to improve his skills, training under bushy-brows' sensei no less! I had to take the genin exam three times, and even then...I guess everyone is right, I'm nothing but a failure."

Hinata found herself worried; while she had spied a few of Naruto's sombre and self-conscious moments, she had never seen him openly display doubt in front of others before. There was no way she could let him leave without trying to bring back his usual fighting spirit, so gathering all her bravery and determination she spoke.

"I-I know you'll be great Naruto-kun!"

Hinata's whole face flushed a deep red when she noticed that she had her crush's undivided attention, but she continued regardless.

"And even if you're a failure, you're the best type; a proud failure! Because no matter what people say or do, or how often you fall you always get back up and try again! I-I always thought I was weak and would always be weak until you showed me what true strength was – true strength and true courage is the determination to pick yourself up again after you mess up, to keep going no matter what. You inspire me and I know that you can beat Neji if you really try!"

Naruto listened in shocked, but pleased, silence. He had hardly ever spoken to Hinata before; while the girl was extremely nice they were complete opposites – she was proper, polite, and quiet while Naruto was messy, blunt, and rambunctious. Obviously Hinata was pretty cool, for a quiet and weird girl at least.

"Thanks Hinata, I feel loads better now!" Naruto exclaimed, truly feeling his usual spirit and determination return. Suddenly he realised that he had to be at the arena soon and with a loud swear word the blond ran off. He only got a few meters before he paused and turned back to Hinata.

"You should hurry up too, especially if you don't want to miss me kicking the crap out of your cousin!"

As Naruto finally disappeared in the distance, Hinata slumped against the training post, smiling so widely that her face hurt and trying hard not to faint.

* * *


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: I know it has been a while so here's a small recap so you can differentiate this fic from all the other ones you've been reading (I always get stories mixed up too):

Harry and Naruto interact while sleeping and have since they can remember, so they consider each other brothers in all but blood and are each other's most precious person. They come from alternate realities that through an anomaly in magic is bridged together through them. Magic and chakra are the same thing, though you get the best and strongest results from a wand. Harry is 13, is in third year but the TriWizard Tournament is currently going on a year before cannon. He was chosen as a champion, but didn't compete. Sirius escaped prison and died in Harry's first year. Naruto is twelve and had just finished the first two parts of the chunnin exam. There are no horcruxes in this fanfic. I think that's all the essentials...

P.S. I own nothing.

* * *

The sudden quiet amongst the trees was broken only by the groaning of branches as they kicked off, and the whistling wind as they passed through at such high speeds. Not even five minutes ago there had been a huge battle taking place, but after the last attack by the blond-haired ninja – a headbutt of all things – the massive forms of Shukaku (the one-tailed demon) and the giant frog the blond had been riding on were gone, leaving an unnatural stillness in the air.

Temari along with her brother Kankuro raced among the trees hoping to find their youngest sibling Gaara before any other Leaf ninjas came and blocked their retreat. It was obvious to the female sand ninja that retreat was their only option – Gaara had been their ace in the sleeve by being the container of the one-tailed demon, and now that he was defeated (without even inflicting any damage to Konoha proper) there was no way that the planned Suna/Oto invasion would work. Not that Temari had believed it would have ever succeeded in the first place.

She had never liked the plan to attack Konoha; Suna had already lost so much the past 15 years or so in terms of power, revenue and ninja population; the thought of her beloved village surrendering their honour and credibility to some second-rate plan proposed by a fifth-rate village (who had ever heard of Sound anyway?) enraged the blond wind-user. It was too much risk for very little gain (since even if they beat Konoha, they probably wouldn't see an increase in missions or status; who would want to hire/trust a village already proven to not be true to their contracts/alliances?). But her father the Kazekage, leader of their village, had demanded it and so she would follow through. Temari's fists clenched at the thought of her father. It was because of her father that Suna was barely considered a great ninja village when before under the previous Kazekage's reign it was a contender for _the _greatest. It was because of him that her mother had died, sacrificed to seal the Shukaku into his youngest child. It was because of him that she hadn't even known she had a second brother until said brother had already become an unstable psychopath.

Temari (and to a smaller extent Kankuro) had tried to form a sibling relationship with Gaara, but by then it was already too late. Now it was all they could do to refrain from angering the red-head, always aware that one wrong move or word on their part would lead to a bloody death. It was hard enough to stay under his violent radar, let alone try and develop some sort of bond. But deep in her heart Temari hoped that one day they could get through to Gaara. And as much as Kankuro complained about their brother and declared that it would've been better if they had never known about their relationship to the Sand jinchuuriki, it showed in his actions how much he wished things were different; for one thing he could have insisted they both retreat without Gaara instead of searching for the red-head with her (especially since he was still suffering from the fight against that bug user).

Finally they slowed down as they noticed Gaara and the blond he had been fighting laying down in the clearing up ahead. They waited, still hidden in the trees, so they could see what the situation was and therefore figure out the best course of action – any decent ninja knew it was plain stupidity to jump into a situation without knowing the details. Temari narrowed her eyes shrewdly at the Leaf ninja; that kid – Uzumaki Naruto if Temari recalled correctly – was something else. She hadn't thought much of the blond at their first meeting – he was too brash, loud and upfront to be a capable ninja. But throughout the tournament he had surprised and impressed her and others with his determination and unconventional moves. And the fact that he had actually beaten the Sand's Weapon; well, Temari wouldn't want to face him across the battlefield.

Temari's musings were cut short at the sound of her youngest brother's voice.

"S-stay away from me! Don't come any closer!"

While this seemed to be a good indicator that the other 2 thirds of the Sand siblings should jump in, Temari and Kankuro were frankly too shocked and curious to move – never had they heard any emotion in their brother's voice and eyes besides annoyance, anger and bloodlust. To see the Sand's unbeatable weapon laying on the ground, too tired and sore to move, and openly showing fear, shock and disbelief seemed just plain wrong. But they wouldn't have to intervene for a long while anyway; the blond was clearly as tired and worn as the fallen Sand jinchuuriki. Not even possessing the energy to stand, the Konoha boy was inching his way oh-so slowly and deliberately forward.

"I...will...stop you..." Naruto grit out as he wormed his way to his opponent. "I will save Konoha and my precious people...even if I have to kill you."

"But, why?" Gaara asked, sounding so lost and confused. "Why do you care so much for them? Why would you do anything for others instead of for yourself?"

That question seemed to bring Naruto to a stop. The blond stayed where he was, just looking at Gaara for a moment before he spoke.

"It's almost unbearable isn't it?" Naruto asked softly, barely loud enough for the two hidden Sand ninjas to hear. "Being alone? I know how you feel, I've felt that way too. But I've got precious people now! People who saved me from my loneliness, and I won't let anybody hurt them! That's why I won't ever give up!"

There was silence after that, broken only by the blonde's grunts as he determinedly continued his journey forward.

"You can rest now, Naruto." A voice spoke out, revealing itself to be from Uchiha Sasuke as he landed besides his exhausted teammate. "Sakura is fine. I'll take it from here."

Kankuro and Temari took that as their cue to move out into the open; it was one thing to see how the situation played out against an opponent who was too tired and worn out to stand, but against the Uchiha (who was obviously able and willing to fight) the older Sand siblings knew they had to act. But they had barely landed protectively in front of Gaara before the battle was stopped before it began.

"That's enough."

Kankuro and Temari nearly jumped at the voice of their brother. But even though they heard him, they didn't move out of their defensive positions, still wary of the Uchiha.

Gaara just gave a weary sigh before speaking again. "Let's go home."

Kankuro went to support the red-head while Temari continued to guard them. Once the puppet user had a good hold, the three siblings retreated as quickly as possible. The wind user was fairly confident that they wouldn't be followed (why chase after three genins that didn't even fight within Konoha's walls when there were plenty of other enemies to go after), but it was better safe than sorry. Therefore by unspoken agreement the three siblings traveled as fast as possible, resting only during a short period for water and to trade Kankuro for Temari in supporting/carrying Gaara (since Temari was the least injured).

The silence, maintained throughout the long journey, was broken just as the border between Fire country and River country was in sight.

"Temari, Kankuro...I'm sorry."

Temari almost dropped Gaara in shock at the soft (but heartfelt) words. Gaara rarely spoke in the first place, and never had he ever shown any sign of remorse, let alone apologized for anything.

"Don't worry about it." Kankuro answered, even though he didn't know exactly what Gaara was apologising for. He had a feeling that it wasn't for losing against the blond or for the failed invasion though.

Temari just squeezed her younger brother in a sort of half-hug in response to the apology, as she continued to support him on their way back home. There was no more talking after that, even when they set up camp in River Country, feeling safe enough to catch a few hours sleep during the night.

Before she fell asleep Temari couldn't help but think over the happenings of the past two months; her initial bad thoughts and feelings when she heard of the plan to invade Konoha, her fear of her brother one day snapping and killing her and/or Kankuro, and especially how different Gaara seemed now; much calmer, sane and just plain human, compared to the demon-like behaviour of before. Maybe, despite all her misgivings and bad feelings against it, some good did result from the stupid invasion.

.......................................................................................................................................................

Naruto was not impressed.

In fact, the blond was angry, annoyed and frustrated. While it's true that Naruto could be quick to anger, he was quicker to forgive (or forget) and all things considered, the blue-eyed boy was usually so energetic and happy that there wasn't much that upset him in the first place. So his being in such a foul temperament was really saying something. But this woman in front of him – and since when was she supposed to become the Fifth Hokage! – wasn't even worthy to be a Konoha shinobi in his eyes, let alone worthy enough to become their leader!

Though, perhaps Naruto's harsh judgement could be accredited to his bad mood, which had been developing steadily over the past week and a half. Back then hHe had been reluctant to leave the Leaf village in the first place; the village was still rebuilding after the invasion and they needed all the help they could get. But mostly Naruto had still been mourning over the death of the Third Hokage; the first person who had been nice to him and consequently his first precious person (from his own world of course). The blond had looked up to Sarutobi quite a bit, and it was partially thanks to O-jiji that Naruto had decided he wanted to become the Hokage. But Jiraiya had convinced him that the journey was for a worthy cause, and that his old teammate was the best medic in the world, and therefore the best chance Lee had to ever become a ninja again after Gaara's debilitating attack. Not to mention the old pervert had promised to teach Naruto a cool jutsu if he accompanied him.

And so the journey started off with some slight resentment, but mostly overshadowed by hope and eagerness for the retrieval of someone who can help Konoha in a big way after all that destruction. But it only went downhill from there. He soon learned that Jiraiya actually had no idea where this Tsunade woman was, and so they were pretty much wandering around wasting time trying to find her. Then, Naruto got attacked by two ridiculously strong missing-nins (one of whom ended up being Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother and murderer of almost his entire clan). They're apparently a part of a secret organisation that wants to kidnap him for the demon sealed within him. Thankfully Jiraiya came in time to save him (though why the pervert was out roaming around when he knew that such dangerous people were after his charge is beyond Naruto). Unfortunately Sasuke (who ran all the way from Konoha when he heard the news that Itachi was after the blond) got pretty messed up by his older brother who used some special genjutsu with his sharingan on him. The younger Uchiha had still been unconscious when Bushy-brows-sensei had arrived to bring Sasuke back to Konoha the next say and Jiraiya didn't think the boy would be waking up any time soon. So after that little adventure Naruto felt a bit wary, but three times as determined to find and bring back this supposed medical miracle worker to help Lee, Sasuke and Kakashi (who apparently got messed up like Sasuke too, but back in Konoha).

Naruto's determination however quickly became overshadowed by his growing frustration and anger at his traveling companion. Jiraiya still didn't seem in any way rushed to find his old teammate, and often spent his days and nights in taverns and whore houses. Naruto said it was because Jiraiya was a no-good pervert, while Jiraiya argued that it was the best place to gather information. To make matters worse, the pervy-sage had then spent all the hard earned money that Naruto had saved up and brought along with him – after having the gall to give Naruto a lecture about money-management and the vices of alcohol, gambling and women! Thankfully the blond still had most of his cash back home, but his poor gama-chan (and yes, Naruto named his frog-shaped wallet, and he's not ashamed of it!) looked so flat and empty now. What was worse was when Naruto found out that Jiraiya was filthy rich from selling those pervy books that Kakashi loved so much, and he spent Naruto's money instead of his own.

Jiraiya's faults were (somewhat) forgiven however when the toad sage _finally _kept his promise and started teaching Naruto a cool jutsu – the 'rasengan' to be precise; a jutsu created by the Fourth Hokage himself! Unfortunately Naruto's excitement and eagerness waned when he learned that by "teaching" him a new jutsu, Jiraiya meant that he would show Naruto what he has to do and let the blond figure out how to do it on his own. Naruto ruthlessly pushed down his disappointment (why he expected any different after knowing how Jiraiya "taught" during the chunnin exam, Naruto didn't know) and determinately completed the first two steps. Unfortunately he was still stuck on the third and final step and therefore was more frustrated than usual.

And that brings us back to the present, where they had finally stumbled upon Tsunade, her apprentice Shizune (who looked about the same age despite the fact that Tsunade had to be over 20 years older), and their pet pig Tonton. But what really threw Naruto for a loop was Jiraiya revealing that he was actually searching for her to offer her the position of Godaime Hokage.

"Ha!" the twenty-something looking woman snorted. "Me? Hokage? No thank you."

Naruto spluttered in anger and indignation that someone would be so bitter, and actually refuse the position he has been aspiring for since he learned what a Hokage was. And this Tsunade, who was offered the coveted position on a silver platter, actually scorned what he worked so hard to eventually achieve.

"Don't worry Naruto," Jiraiya said, forestalling the angry rant that was dying to escape from the blond youth's mouth. "She may not like it, but my asking was just a formality; truthfully she doesn't have a choice. There's no one else for the job."

Tsunade just snorted. "Just because there's no one else doesn't mean I'll accept."

"Sarutobi-sensei is dead Tsunade," Jiraiya explained. "And while he was content to let you wander freely and mourn during times of peace, the council is temporarily in charge now and even if you weren't chosen for Hokage you'd be called back to help heal those injured during the invasion. It may have been years since you've last stepped foot in Konoha, but you're still a ninja of the Leaf and you're still going to be returning there."

The jaded blond woman didn't reply right away, preferring to take another drink of sake first. "I heard about Sarutobi-sensei." she admitted. "Just earlier today in fact."

The toad sage looked at his former teammate shrewdly for a moment. "So, Orochimaru did come to see you." It was not a question.

Tsunade made a noise of neither agreement nor disagreement.

"I hope that you're not actually considering helping a known traitor of the Leaf Tsunade," Jiraiya said, his tone implying just how serious he was in the matter. "I would hate to kill you for treason."

The two ex-teammates shared a look that Naruto couldn't decipher, but he knew a hidden meaning had been expressed and understood.

"So, about you becoming the Fifth Hokage..." Jiraiya trailed off, speaking as if the whole Orochimaru tangent had never happened.

"All four Hokages were willing to sacrifice themselves for the safety of the village – and where did it get them? Dead, that's where, and all for a village that still isn't safe." Tsunade remarked scornfully, ignoring the orange-clad kid's clenched fists and furious glare. "Only a fool would want that job, let alone accept it."

It was only Jiraiya's warning hand on his arm that stalled Naruto's outburst.

"Hm...I wonder if it says something that Sarutobi-sensei held the position twice." The blond woman continued thoughtfully, pretending to be oblivious to Naruto's anger.

"That does it!" Naruto shouted, sick and tired about this woman insulting the position of Hokage and all those who occupied it (thereby indirectly insulting the boy's heroes and his dream). "You have no right to make fun of the Old Man or the other Hokages! They lived and died for their village and their precious people – something you obviously don't understand! You're nothing but a selfish old hag who doesn't care for anybody else and wouldn't know a hero if they came up and slapped you in the face! You don't deserve to be Hokage!"

Tsunade's angry retort died in her throat at the precious people comment. Her whole life had been dictated by her precious people. She had wanted to become a ninja to make her grandfather – the First Hokage and the co-founder of Konoha – proud of her. That was back when she was 5, when female ninjas where all but unheard of and even those with training became infiltration and seduction experts rather than battlefield worthy. She had become a medic-nin to heal her little brother and her teammates, to help keep them as safe as possible in the violent world they lived in. And after her precious Nawaki had died in the battlefield, she had dedicated her passion and energy into teaching and lobbying for more medics, so other people wouldn't have to suffer the loss she felt. Then she met Dan, who understood her and her loss, who had the same dream as her little brother – to become Hokage and keep the village and their precious people safe. Like with Nawaki she had given him her necklace, her grandfather's old necklace, to show her love and support in that dream. But like her brother, Dan had only worn the necklace for a short time before he too died in battle despite Tsunade's desperate attempts to heal him. Afterwards, it became too much. She couldn't heal – let alone see blood – without thinking of her dead loved ones. She couldn't look anywhere in Konoha without being assaulted by painful bittersweet memories of better times long gone. She all but fell apart, leaving with only Dan's niece as her new apprentice as she wasted her life and money drinking and gambling, running from her village and memories (and more recently, her debt collectors).

But the sorrow those memories brought up quickly gave way to anger; how dare this boy imply that she didn't understand what it was like to be willing to give up your life for your precious people? Not a day goes by where she doesn't wish it had been her rather than her brother who had their life cruelly taken, that she could have died just so that Dan and Nawaki could have had a _chance_ of fulfilling their dreams. It was only her desperation to see them alive and happy again that made her even consider Orochimaru's proposal.

"If you are so against me becoming the Fifth Hokage, why don't you challenge me to it." Tsunade replied, angry at the emotions this boy had evoked in her, and eager to but the brat in his place. "As far as I can see you're all guts and nothing else. But if you want to prove otherwise, I'll be outside, waiting. Hopefully you'll prove to be smarter than you look and stay here."

She wasn't surprised to see the brat follow her outside with no hesitation, despite Jiraiya's attempts to reason with kid. Likewise, she ignored Shizune's protests about her fighting some wet behind the ears genin who was at least four times younger than her.

Eventually Shizune and Jiraiya accepted that it was futile to try and stop this fight from happening, so they backed off as the two combatants got into position. But before the fight started Tsunade found herself asking a question that had been nagging at her. Though the slug sannin told herself it was only to distract herself from her apprentice's heavy and disapproving stare, subconsciously she knew differently.

"Hey brat, why do you care so much about my opinion on the Hokages anyway? What difference does it make to you?"

Naruto stared straight in her eyes, and with complete sincerity and seriousness he answered. "It matters to me because my dream, is to be Hokage."

That said Naruto ran forward, made a few shadow clones and attacked.

Tsunade was thrown off by the answer; just as the brat had answered she had seen and heard Nawaki and Dan saying the same thing with the same tone from her memories. That allowed Naruto and his clones to score a few hits, for all the good it did. Tsunade was well known for her healing abilities and her massive strength; which were both due to her excellent chakra control. She could control and direct the flow of chakra in her body to such an extent that she could increase her strength and durability to an insane amount. This caused taijutsu to be all but useless against her. So although Naruto had scored quite a few good hits which would have winded most people and would have easily broken bones of civilians, it hurt Naruto more than it hurt Tsunade and she easily dispelled the clones and sent the real Naruto flying by only using some flicks of her finger.

"You're slipping Jiraiya," Tsunade called out, not even bothering to keep an eye on her opponent. "This apprentice isn't nearly as good as your last one was."

"Yes, well it's hard for anyone to compare to my last student." Jiraiya replied. "Namikaze Minato was a genius only seen once a generation; intelligent, strong, well-liked, and nearly as good looking as myself."

Naruto growled angrily; that woman wasn't taking him seriously, and instead was more interested in insulting him than fighting. And while Naruto knew that he wasn't on par with the Fourth Hokage, couldn't have Jiraiya defended him anyway, at least a little bit?

"Hey! Pay attention when you're fighting!" Naruto yelled. With a few hand movements a steak of red shot out at the older woman, but the medic easily dodged. Naruto inwardly swore; the spells that he was so far capable of performing that were fit for battle were too straight forward and bright, making them easy to dodge for high level ninja.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed; she didn't recognize those hand symbols, let alone the jutsu used. She wondered how many new jutsus had been created since she had left the village fifteen years ago. Oh well, either way this match would end in her favour.

"Listen brat, I'm way better than you skill-wise. If you want to have even a hope at beating me you'll have to use your best technique 'cause anything else will fail miserably." Tsunade advised, even though she doubted even his best technique would do much against her.

Naruto didn't doubt her; he remembered how outclassed he had been in the Forest of Death against Orochimaru, against whom he had to use every trick up his sleeves just to keep him and his teammates alive. And even then he had only survived since the snake sannin had been toying with them and hadn't cared enough to actually kill Naruto after using the seal to mess with his chakra. But that didn't mean he wouldn't try and beat her – no way would he let someone insult the Hokages on his watch!

With next to no effort, ten clones popped out of existence and surrounded the slug sannin from a safe distance. They each fired off spells as fast as they could (the impediment jinx and the full-body bind) at different heights and places to make sure that their target couldn't dodge them all. Meanwhile the original Naruto concentrated on the rasengan for the finishing blow.

Tsunade inwardly cursed as she was hit again by a jutsu she didn't recognize. While the jutsus weren't that strong and thanks to her chakra control she found them pretty easy to throw off, she was still under their effects for a few seconds after being hit. That meant that once one hit, she was forced still for a moment before she could fight it off and move again; which was all the opening another clone would need to hit her, restarting the cycle. A sudden increase of chakra concentrated in front of her made her look up wondering just what obviously high powered technique the brat knew. Her eyes widened as she recognised the rasengan – just what the hell was Jiraiya thinking teaching a genin brat such a high level technique?!

Hurriedly Tsunade pumped chakra into her right leg, both to throw off the strange jutsu that kept it immobile and also to increase the strength and power of her kick. She lifted her leg and slammed it down, creating a deep fissure in the ground that the original Naruto tripped on when he ran forward to attack. Dirt and dust clouded the air as the rasengan made contact with the ground and Tsunade used that cover and the quick pause in attacks due to confusion to destroy the clones before she made her way to the original.

"You're rasengan isn't completed." Tsunade noted as she took in the swirling pattern in the dirt and the wider-but-much-shallower-than-it-should-be impact point. "Its basic knowledge that you shouldn't use a technique you haven't yet perfected."

"Pervy-sage only started teaching me it a few days ago." Naruto growled, angry that he failed so close to victory. "Just you wait; in a few days I'll have it down pat and I'll kick your butt for talking badly about the Hokages!"

Despite herself Tsunade found her lips twitching up in a smile at the brat's nickname for her old teammate and at his gusto. The kid reminded her too much of her dearly departed brother for her own good.

"Hey brat, do you know what this is?" she asked, showing him her necklace which had been in her possession for over 40 years. It consisted of a fairly large greenish-blue crystal framed by two smaller clear/white gems, one on either side. At his puzzled expression she explained. "This was my grandfather's necklace that he gave to me when I became a genin. Even without its historical past it is worth enough to buy several mountains. But since you're so set on becoming Hokage, I figure I'll give you the chance to own it. So here's the deal; if you can master the rasengan in one week I'll give you the necklace. If you lose however, you have to give up your dream of being Hokage."

At Naruto's gasp she continued. "It's a win-win for you brat; either you get a priceless necklace and perfect a strong technique, or I get to save you from yourself and a position where you tend to die young."

Jiraiya frowned. First off, he didn't know what to think of Tsunade offering up her most prized possession, the necklace she had only offered to Nawaki and Dan in her entire life. Secondly, there were those rumours of the necklace being cursed since both Dan and Nawaki had it for barely a month before they died. And lastly (but most importantly) he didn't condone her trying to make Naruto abandon his dream. He has only known the kid for a short while, but even he could see how important that dream was to the brat.

"You're being unreasonable Tsunade." Jiraiya spoke up. "It took the Minato three years to create the technique and it took me several months to master after being taught. Even Kakashi using his sharingan took over a month to learn. It's unrealistic to expect a mere genin to master it in a week."

Before the busty blond could retort Naruto intervened.

"I accept."

Everyone looked over to the uncharacteristically serious looking boy. "I accept the bet, but I want one more prize if I win."

"Let me guess," Tsunade drawled. "I have to accept the position of Fifth Hokage?"

"No." Naruto answered. "I don't want you as Hokage; you're in debt, you gamble and drink all the time and you even lie about your age with your stupid jutsu. A real Hokage is honest and good and is willing to risk their life for the village, which you already said you think is stupid. I want you to come back to Konoha and heal my friends and sensei if I win the bet."

Tsunade couldn't help but smile. If she wasn't careful, she would end up liking the brat (though she was starting to already). For once she actually half-hoped she would lose.

"It's a deal."

..........................................................................................................................................................

"So, did you get any new missions or are you still working on reconstruction?" Harry asked as the two settled down in the dreamscape for a chat. They had been practicing their spell work to make it stronger and taking turns getting hit to see if they could throw it off using magic/chakra like Tsunade had done. So far it took them around three minutes to throw off the leg-locker curse, and about twelve minutes for the impediment jinx and the full-body bind. They still hadn't gotten their stunners strong enough wandlessly to make the victim beyond woozy, but they were working on it. Since this was a relatively new exercise for them they weren't upset that they were having problems throwing the spells off, and on the upside practicing to direct their chakra/magic to different parts of their body it was now easier for them to do it subconsciously when using taijutsu.

"Well, Kakashi-sensei gave us tickets to see the latest Princess Fŭn movie tomorrow and he said it was for a mission, but I don't know what the mission is yet." Naruto replied. "How about you; did you finally get the Prophet to court?"

"No," Harry replied, which was the answer Naruto was expecting. "The ministry is still protecting them. But at the very least I think I'm pissing them off; they arranged a meeting with me this upcoming Hogsmead weekend."

"No way! That's good...right?"

"I think so," Harry replied. "I'm not really sure. I'll go and see what they want but I don't think it will change anything."

Naruto just shrugged in reply. While he was angry that the paper thought they could tell dirty lies about his brother, he wasn't really interested in the legal and political schemes Harry was working on to counter them. The blond was a straight forward kind of guy and he would have preferred storming into the newspapers base to yell and beat up the editors and reporters rather than the route Harry was taking. Sure he knew it wasn't necessarily the proper way to do things in Harry's world, but if it worked, it worked. He best made plans on the fly when it was do or die; he didn't have the patience nor the interest to make such intricate plans so far in advance.

"So how's Tsunade as Hokage?" Harry asked. He was curious about the woman who Naruto couldn't stand at first, only to then become one his most precious people in less than a month. To be fair, it seemed to go both ways and Tsunade was equally as fond of Naruto. Harry was just glad that such an influential and strong ninja had only Naruto's best interests at heart.

"She's good," Naruto admitted somewhat reluctantly, playing absentmindedly with the necklace he had won from the slug sannin. "She's stopped gambling, well for the most part at least, and she sometimes tries to hide the fact that she drinks all the time...but she's tough and has a lot of respect among ninjas so Sakura-chan says that no one will dare attack us right now even though we're still recovering from the invasion."

"Hmmm." Harry said, just to show he was listening. He was pretty tired and would probably fall into a real sleep soon.

"Though she still calls me brat all the time." Naruto groused petulantly.

Harry opened an eye to look over at his brother. "Don't you still call her granny and old hag though?"

"That's only because she's lying to everybody with her stupid jutsu!" Naruto defended. "If she stopped making herself look like she's twenty, I'll stop calling her baa-chan!"

Harry just laughed.

...............................................................................................................................................

Harry sighed as he waved goodbye to his friends and slowly made his way through the crowded pub towards the private rooms in the back of The Three Broomsticks. It was a Hogsmead weekend and it seemed like the entire castle was out enjoying it. Harry however had an appointment to keep before he could spend the rest of his day with his friends.

Harry finally found room 4 and entered, closing the door behind him.

"Ms. Skeeter," Harry greeted, a bit shocked that this was who he was meeting with. "I was under the impression that I would be speaking to one of the editors for the Daily Prophet, not a reporter."

Despite the fact that his first attempt at suing the Daily Prophet had been dismissed by the ministry, Harry had tried again. And again. And again. And agai....well, you get the point. Either way, the Daily Prophet was tired of Harry's incessant efforts, and they were losing money by bribing ministry officials to ensure that Harry's case never gets to court. Therefore they had set up a meeting with Harry hoping to come to an agreement of some kind.

"I'm here as a representative Harry," Rita explained, "now why don't you sit down and tell why you're trying to destroy the Britain's leading wizard newspaper, hmm?"

Harry grit his teeth at the condescending tone Rita was using and at the use of his first name; granted it wasn't considered as rude here as Naruto's world to take liberties with someone's name, her implied familiarity still grated on him more than her aggravating smugness. He ignored it however, reminding himself that if things worked out his way she would soon be out of a job.

The messy-haired boy leisurely sat himself down and made a small show of getting himself comfortable, just to show that he wouldn't be rushed or pushed around by the likes of her. Only after he was settled did he address the woman across from him.

"I know you are the Prophet's top reporter, but how does that make you qualified to represent the newspaper as a whole." Harry asked.

Rita spluttered a bit at the implied insult before replying.

"I own 17% of the shares of the Daily Prophet; that's the third largest share! Along with Edgar Polgins and Howard Smith – who also work as the editors – we own SPS corporation, which possesses over 65% of the company! So don't you tell me whether or not I am able to represent The Daily Prophet!"

Harry knew that of course; he'd had his lawyer (recommended to him by Madam Bones) look into it; it wouldn't do to sue without knowing all the details. He had just wanted to get under her skin and see if he could get her to confess to being one of the owners of the newspaper (though it's technically information open to the public neither of the three co-owners want the public to know; it makes it harder for people to fight against their biased news coverage and outright lies if they don't have someone to pin the blame on). Of course other major share holders would know this information, but for the most part they are old pureblood families (like the Malfoy's who own the fourth largest share and the Black family which owned the sixth largest share of 7% - though now it belongs to Harry via Sirius' will), and they allow this nonsense to continue since they have connections all over the wizarding world in order to know the real truth and the Prophet never prints anything incriminating against them.

After giving the reporter a doubtful look that seemed to say 'if you say so....', Harry spoke up.

"Very well. Then as the representative do you mind telling me why you arranged this meeting?" Harry asked.

Skeeter quickly regained her composure and answered. "We are tired of you filing complaints and law suits against us Harry. It's a waste of both our time. So we have graciously organized this meeting to hear your complaints and try to come to an, understanding."

"Well, if you'd ever taken the time to read my letters; which I had sent to the chief editor on their own and added on to the legal papers notifying you of the my suits against you, you would know what my complaints were since they were stated quite clearly and repetitively." Harry explained as if she were an especially slow child.

"Harry, you can hardly expect the Daily Prophet to retract articles and publish full out apologies; especially over little details like the ones you argue about. Our credibility would be shot and it would be a big waste of paper and ink." Rita huffed.

"So you have read all my letters," Harry commented. "I wasn't sure; there were never any replies, and the false information you printed was never retracted. And for the record, what you call "little details", I find extremely important information. Due to your unjust reporting you have ruined reputations and lives; Hagrid had locked himself in his cabin for weeks after your article calling him a dangerous creature who craves bloodshed, and I wouldn't be surprised if you had driven some poor wizard to suicide with your lies in the past."

Rita grit her teeth before continuing on with a simpering smile as if Harry had never spoken.

"How some people handle professional criticism is not the issue. If –"

"Professional criticism?!" Harry repeated incredulously. "You call out-right lies and slander "professional criticism"? How is calling me "_an attention seeking delinquent in desperate need of professional mental help" _and _"willing to go to depraved and dangerous lengths_" in anyway professional criticism? That was pure lies and accusation without an ounce of truth to back it up. Don't bother hiding the fact that you will print anything no matter how inaccurate in order to sell a newspaper behind fancy words and more lies."

"Well, if you're so angry with what has been printed about you, I am more than willing to interview you right now, so that the public can hear your side of the story." Skeeter offered graciously, an eager gleam in her eyes.

"No thank you." Harry replied, not even bothering to hide his disgust at the idea. "Frankly I wouldn't trust you to report on yesterday's weather accurately, let alone an interview where you are already prejudiced against the interviewee and there are no other witnesses. As I had stated in my letters, the only thing that will stop me from taking you and your newspaper to court is if you retract all your articles with false information and publish your apologies to those you have wronged along with the proper _truthful _news."

At the woman's continued silence Harry deemed the meeting over and calmly stood, said a polite farewell, and left. Once Harry was far enough away (and more importantly, completely alone) he let a smirk grace his features and pulled out a magical recording device and pushed 'stop'. Used by (competent) reporters, the recording device looked similar to a muggle tape player, but smaller. Harry brought it along and had it recording even before he stepped foot in the meeting room, just in case. Skeeter hadn't revealed any new information, but it had proved things that Harry already knew (like the true owners of the Daily Prophet and the fact that they had gotten and read his letters). What made it good evidence for the eventual trail is the fact that Skeeter admitted those facts herself. Also, Harry didn't doubt for a moment that an all inclusive interview featuring Harry Potter and Rita Skeeter would grace tomorrow's newspaper and would have nothing but lies. That article compared to the actual meeting which he recorded would prove how unreliable and inaccurate Skeeter's articles actually were. Harry returned the device back into his pocket, absentmindedly walking back to the school with thoughts of duplicating his newest evidence and sending a copy to his lawyer and one to the ever helpful Madam Bones.

* * *

**Mega-Super-Ultra Q&A (since I haven't done it in a while, so I have a lot of questions to catch up for).**

**Will there be technomagic and/or Harry and Naruto be learning and using more technology and science?**

No, this will not be a TechnoMagic fic. In this universe (or rather both alternate universes...) magic/chakra and technology are not compatible. They'll work together in small doses (like the wizarding wireless and the walky-talky device things they use in Naruto) but for the most part they don't mix well. Naruto's world is as mixed as it gets - magical (ninjas) and non-magical (civilians) people know of each other and live together more or less harmonuosly. There's still some technology like trains, movies, electricity, plumbing but that's about it and that's all there will be. So no guns, internet, planes, etc.

**What about Harry's gifts/abilities from Fawkes and the basilisk? And all those jutsus that Naruto copied from the forbidden scroll? When will we see those in use?**

Not for a little while. Remember, those jutsus in the scroll are forbidden for a reason so Naruto and Harry wouldn't have mastered them right away. And they're too busy working on more basic skills and converting spells to jutsus before they take on those ones. And as for Harry's new features...well I've already listed some differences - he has no need for glasses, he has more magic/a bigger chakra pool, he finds it easier to use his magic/chakra, he heals quickly and is resistant to all poisons and potions due to the basilisk venom and pheonix tears still in his blood. I understand that Harry hasn't really had a chance to test his mettle since lately his battles have been more political than physical, but don't worry he'll get his chance. But for the most part right now I'm using the scroll and the chamber incident as a convenient safety net of excuses in case I suddenly get hit with a plot bunny or two and find myself in need of a plausible way to work it in the story.

**I don't speak Japanese, can you provide translations?**

I don't either, which is why I usually try to avoid japanese terminology. Though I have noticed that I use it more now than before - I blame my increasing familiarity with the Naruto fandom where everyone seems to know what everything means and therefore I assume everyone does know. So I'm sorry about that and here are some explanations:

jinchuuriki - human sacrifice. Basically a human with a demon sealed within them, like Naruto and Gaara.  
Hokage - the ninja leader of Konoha  
Konoha - the village hidden in the Leafs - Naruto's home village  
Kage - leader of one of the 5 great ninja villages. (Hokage for leaf (Konoha), Tsuchikage for rock (Iwa), Mizukage for mist (Kiri), Kazekage for sand (Suna) and Raikage for cloud (Kumo).  
Genjutsu - illusion technique  
Ninjutsu - these are the usual ninja techniques, like the rasengan  
Taijutsu - hand to hand fighting  
Yondaime - Fourth. Usually refers to the fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato  
Godaime - Fifth. Usually refers to the fifth Hokage Tsunade  
Jutsu - technique  
Genin - lowest level of ninja (which is what the rookie 9, including Naruto, are)  
Chunnin - mid-ranked ninja (like Iruka)  
Jounin - elite ninja (like Kakashi)  
Kunoichi - female ninja

I think that's all the important ones. Feel free to ask again if I forgot something.

**What are the pairings going to be? How about slash?**

Originally I was going to have an eventual NaruHina and maybe a slash pairing with Harry, but I've learned that plans could change (I originally had Harry compete in the TriWizard tournament until I was writing chapter 23). I've decided to just write this with no pairings (at least no obvious ones) unless I feel that it would better the story some how. There will still be crushes, but probably no kissing or beyond. I may change my mind again, but as Sakura Moon and Kaname Natsumi pointed out this is a story mainly about the brotherly relationship between Naruto and Harry and additional romantic relationships will just add unneeded drama. Besides, I'm no good at writing romance.

**About the ranking of ninjas vs. wizards....  
**  
No! Just, no. I've spent too many Q&A sessions on this to the point that I've confused myself and probably you guys too. So for now we'll leave it alone and then address it again if you guys have questions when it becomes relevant to the story (i.e. if and when wizards and ninjas actually come face to face).


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Sorry for the wait, but here's my excuse(s); first off my computer was out of commission for almost two weeks and secondly, well I was hit with a plot bunny quite suddenly and decided to add a scene that I wasn't planning to have (or at least happen this way) until a few chapters from now. That, of course, made me change a few other scenes...

* * *

It was a scene straight out of a B class horror movie (albeit, with much better special effects); the night was dark and bitterly cold; even the light of the full moon seemed muted somehow, glowing brightly in the sky but not providing any light to see. And although there were little pinpricks in the distance signifying a small town nearby, within the deserted cemetery there was a sense of isolation and danger. Looking over said cemetery was a large, abandoned mansion. Fifty years ago there had been a case of unsolved murders to the occupants and since then no one has dared to live in it. It was from that mansion that a cloaked figure emerged, a large cauldron (big enough for a full-grown man to sit comfortably inside) floating behind him as if by magic. Once the cauldron was set up, complete with a fire burning underneath, the cloaked man returned to the mansion only to reappear minutes later, this time transporting vials of unknown liquids.

The man made about a dozen trips back and forth, always adding and stirring things in the cauldron for ten minutes or so in between each trip. Finally, the cloaked man returned from the mansion for the last time, but this time the cloaked man seemed to be carrying a baby of all things.

"Hurry Wormtail; the moon is at its peak." A voice hissed out, sounding so menacing that anyone within hearing distance would get shivers down their backs and a strong urge to run.

The cloaked man was no exception, but instead of fleeing he continued to focus on the cauldron and its contents, though there was a noticeable increase in the tremors racking his body and hands. As the man started sweating more profusely, he used the sleeve of his cloak to wipe at his brow, knocking off his hood and revealing a balding rat faced man. Finally he reached for the odd baby-like thing, and placed it too in the cauldron. The rat-faced man then started chanting in latin as the liquid inside seemed to take a life of its own, frothing and bubbling and starting to glow ever brighter. The chant ended as the bubbling mass reached a blinding point and suddenly released a huge amount of steam and fog into the sudden darkness. Though anyone's sight would be greatly inhibited, one may have been able to see the outline of a tall form emerging from the cauldron. Though muggles (had they witnessed the scene) may have believe that this ritual resulted in a sort of Frankenstein, the truth was far worse – the Dark Lord Voldemort had just been reborn.

"Wormtail, my wand." The newly risen dark lord commanded, eager to hold his weapon of power now that he was fully capable to do so.

The rat-faced man nearly fell over himself in his rush to do as his master bid him. The Dark Lord took the offered wand and savored the feel of the familiar wood in his hand, the tingles of power rushing through his body. With an absent flick of his wrist he was suddenly clothed in a black cloak. With a shrewd look at his minion he let loose another spell.

"Crucio."

The man's screams were music to the Dark Lord's ears as he reveled in his power and body for the first time in over a decade. Twelve years; twelve years as a mere shade, a bodiless spirit forced to rely on the strength and power of those foolish enough to cross his path. All because of that child...

Voldemort abruptly cut off the curse when he realized that any longer and one of his only servants would become useless to him (at least more useless than usual). He left Wormtail twitching on the ground, leaving it to his servant to pull himself together and to clean up all evidence from the ritual which granted the Dark Lord his body. Too bad it wasn't the ritual Voldemort had originally planned on using.

Months ago the plan had been to use a ritual consisting of three main ingredients: his father's bones, a servant's flesh and an enemy's blood. The reason he wanted to use that ritual was for the blood of the enemy; Harry Potter's blood. To this day Voldemort (and the rest of the world) wasn't quite sure what happened that night twelve years ago when the killing curse rebounded and forced the Dark Lord from his body. Voldemort had cast that spell often enough to know that he had made no mistakes that day; his avada kedavra was the usual flawless force of death. He didn't believe Dumbledore's explanation of "the power of love" for one second; that was hardly the first time someone begged for the life of a loved one or even threw themselves in front of an AK meant for someone else, and never before had the AK failed to kill either victim afterwards. And then there was the fact that Quirrel, when possessed by the Dark Lord, was unable to touch the boy without being burned. No, there was definitely something about Potter and Voldemort had been eager to profit from it.

Unfortunately at that time his only servant had been the unwilling Pettigrew, who had only returned to him with nowhere left to go know that his survival and betrayal was common knowledge in the wizarding world. But then Barty Crouch Jr., a servant who had been sent to Azkaban where it was believed he died, came. Not only was Crouch more intelligent and powerful than Wormtail, he was infinitely more loyal and had his father (a high ranking ministry employee) in his control via imperius. Suddenly his plan to use Potter to regain his body was possible.

Knowing that the retired Moody would be Hogwart's new DADA professor, Crouch and Wormtail ambushed him and with liberal uses of veritaserum and polyjuice potion Crouch successfully infiltrated Hogwart's in Moody's place. Now that one of his servants got into Hogwarts, they could work on getting Potter out.

It was common knowledge that Hogwart's was one of the most protected places in the Wizarding world, but many don't seem to grasp just how protected it is. The ancient school has been one of the greatest landmarks in the whole wizarding world since its conception and over the thousand plus years it has been accepting students it had withstood dozens of attacks from several dark lords, it has been host to not only the grand majority of the UK's wizarding population during their schooling but also the crème de la crème in terms of teachers in their professions and usually one of the strongest individuals in their generation as the Headmaster; each of whom help maintain, reapply and add their own wandwork to the wards. On top of not being able to apparate in or out of the grounds, portkeys are rendered useless, you couldn't floo in or out (unless in the Headmaster's office), any dark arts used is immediately picked up on and reported (even when he had possessed Quirrel Voldemort didn't dare use any dark spells within the wards), and there are watchful sentries everywhere in the forms of portraits and ghosts. Add to that the fact that Voldemort wanted Potter's kidnapping and his own revival to be as low-key as possible, and there weren't many options.

But with the TriWizarding Tournament opportunities could be made. Such a big international event meant heightened security, true, but it also meant more people going in and out of the castle, more things to do and look over with not enough time, and more scrutiny for those visiting Hogwarts (like the public who come to watch the tasks) and thus, less scrutiny for those already within the castle (like "Moody"). Add the chaos from an unexpected champion and "Moody" would have been so overlooked with all the other things Dumbledore had to focus on that unless Crouch did something completely obvious his plan would work perfectly.

But then that stupid boy had the gall not to compete! It was vital for Potter to compete; the third task (which had already been decided along with the other 2 tasks the summer before) would end with the winner being portkeyed to the podium after touching the TriWizarding Cup (the portkey wards would be temporarily lifted on the quidditch pitch for the third task). "Moody", being the paranoid safety enthusiast that he was would have been trusted to have some time alone with the Cup before the third task (though he'd have to make sure not to be _the _last person seen with the Cup) to make sure nothing was wrong and then change the portkey location from the podium to Voldemort's waiting arms with no trouble. And as annoying as the boy was, Potter was skilled enough to give the other champions a run for their money for the race to the Cup, especially if Moody helped him out.

But that plan was ruined now, and Voldemort was unwilling to lose Crouch's position as Dumbledore's most trusted confidante just to get at a boy who got lucky too often. He could wait until summer to kidnap the boy, especially since he had heard that the boy no longer was under the protection of the blood wards, but knowing Dumbledore Potter would still be plenty protected (especially against Wormtail who was Voldemort's only other servant at the moment). Since the whole point of using that ritual was to gain whatever power had allowed Potter to survive the killing curse, without Potter Voldemort decided to use a different ritual. He still used his father's bones, but the other ingredients were quite different including some unicorn blood and basilisk blood and venom provided by his familiar Nagini (few people realized that she was a basilisk since due to her young age of 68 her killing stare hadn't developed yet, her venom while highly poisonous wasn't powerful enough to act as acid and her size was quite small at only 8 feet).

It wasn't all bad; Voldemort now looked like his thirty year old self, except for the red slit eyes. The Dark Lord could care less personally what he looked like, but he couldn't deny that his good looks had helped him immensely in his youth in gathering followers. Being out of commission for so long, his looks and charm would once again help him gain followers outside of the families of his previous servants. He felt stronger physically and magically, but he was still unsure if he really was stronger or it was just due to him being unused to having a body – he could always test it out for sure when he went to liberate his followers suffering in Azkaban. After seeing to those who had loyally gone to Azkaban for him he would recall those who had disserted him and saved their own skin to make an example of them. He wouldn't kill them – he needed as many followers as he could get to complete his goals – but he would let his displeasure known while rewarding those who were loyal. And of course he would eventually have to deal with the annoyance that was the Potter boy. But one thing at a time; first he would concentrate on a plan for Azkaban.

* * *

"Uzumaki Naruto; I would like to talk to you."

Naruto jumped in surprise; it wasn't everyday Gaara of the Desert suddenly appeared in front of you.

"Garaa?" Naruto asked, confused as to what the Sand shinobi was doing in Konoha and mindful of the less than sane state the other boy had been in when they had least met. "What are you doing here?"

"Suna and Konoha are still negotiating the peace treaty after what had happened in the invasion. It was thought to be prudent if I were to come as well as the Weapon of the Sand and the strongest of the village." The red-head answered in the same monotonous voice.

"Oh..." Naruto replied, at a loss as to what he should say or do. Thankfully his stomach interrupted before things could get to awkward.

"Heh, heh, heh..." the blond chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as his stomach rumbled loudly. "You caught me on the way to get supper. Wanna come with me for some ramen?"

"That will be acceptable."

Naruto just shrugged at Garaa's way of talking; if Sasuke's grunts weren't enough to discourage him Gaara's monotone certainly wasn't going to do it. So he ignored his companions silence as he babbled on about the wonder that is Ichikaru's ramen and all the wonderful flavors therein.

The meal was much like the walk over; Naruto providing the bulk of the conversation while Gaara contributed only in short pointed sentences, usually in regards to questions asked about his siblings and village. Finally Naruto finished his massive meal and slammed some money on the table, thanking the old man who owned the stand for the food and then leaning back to savor his full stomach.

"I don't understand..." Gaara said, taking advantage in Naruto's silence. "I don't understand your dreams or actions. Why do you wish to protect a village which scorns you?"

The Yondaime Kazekage's youngest child had done a lot of thinking and soul searching since the Sand/Sound invasion of the Leaf village. The knowledge that he wasn't the only one suffering the fate of being a jinchuuriki, and that the other demon container found purpose and acceptance within his village gave Gaara hope for his own future. Unfortunately forging bonds was easier said than done, especially when the one trying was an emotionally stunted living weapon who everybody feared and/or hated. He had made progress with his siblings, but they still flinched whenever Gaara snuck up on them (not that he meant to, he just wasn't the type to announce his presence unnecessarily) and interaction was still pretty awkward. But for the rest of the village, well sometimes it took all of Gaara's restraint not to kill those who attacked or scorned him. Granted, Gaara wasn't used to denying his impulse to kill but the Sand denizens were hardly making it easy for him to maintain his new attitude.

Frustrated at the lack of progress, he had jumped on the chance to return to Konoha for peace talks hoping to find Naruto again for tips on how to forge bonds and gain the acceptance of the village. What he found was disconcerting. Throughout their walk and their meal many villagers would shoot the blond hateful and contemptuous looks; looks Gaara was very familiar with from his own home. Granted not everybody seemed so hateful, like the ramen stand owner and some higher ranked ninja that they had passed, but the majority of the villagers treated Naruto no differently than how Sand villagers treated Gaara. So if that's the case, why does Naruto care for his village so much? Why doesn't he want to destroy it and pay back those who had hurt and belittled him?

Naruto gave him that look again, the one he had given all those weeks ago at their giant battle, the one that made Gaara think that the blond could look into his very soul. "Come with me; I want to show you something."

The red-head followed silently as Naruto swiftly ran through the village, hopping roof-top to roof-top and ignoring those they passed until the crowds thinned out and the blond took him to the edge of the village by the Hokage monument. Then the blond proceeded to run up the side of the monument, climbing until they reached the giant heads carved out from the rock where Naruto finally stopped running and settled down comfortably on top of the Fourth's head as if he'd done it a million times before.

"This," Naruto exclaimed, spreading his arms wide and his smile spread just as much. "is my favorite place in the whole village."

Gaara could see why it would be; from their vantage point you could see the whole village spread out in front of you as well as the endless forest that surrounded the village, so vast it disappeared into the horizon. It reminded him a bit of his own favorite place; the roof of the Kazekage building. It was the tallest building in all of Suna, being four stories tall. Most buildings were only one story since sand storms could easily wipe out tall structures. Gaara had spent many a night of that rooftop, unable to sleep watching the fall and rise of the sun and the sudden peace of the village as people retired for the night.

"Most people don't come up here; civilians obviously can't – though there's a giant staircase leading to a viewing area that they can use. But the view's not as nice. And most ninja think its disrespectful or something to come up here. If they do come up it's usually to the top of the mountain or just over the public viewing area. I don't see why they don't come here; when my face is up here I won't care if people come up to sit on my head." Naruto stated. Though Gaara didn't give any sign that he was listening, Naruto knew that every word was heard and so he just continued talking. "Hokage-jiji was the first person who brought me up here. He was trying to avoid paperwork and wanted to take me for a picnic. The last time he tried to have a picnic with me a few of the villagers got upset, thinking that I was imposing on the Hokage or something stupid like that. So he took me up here, knowing that no one would bother us. It was the first time I saw the village as something other than a prison. I had already wanted to be Hokage, but that was so people would notice me and respect me, not because I wanted to protect them or Konoha. 'Cause even though I tried to push away my anger and sadness, at least for O-jiji's sake, I couldn't forget all that they'd done to me, all that they are still doing to me." The blond muttered, eyes unfocused as his mind relived past events.

"But up here...up here the village was different. There was no one to call me monster, no one to make me feel worthless. I loved it up here. I used to beg O-jiji to bring me here all the time, and he usually managed to make time for us to sit up here at least once a month. And as we sat here he'd tell me about the village; how that building with the blue roof was built by the First as a wedding present to his wife, how he grew up in that building over there, back when Konoha was only a few blocks and a few dozen buildings, and he had to travel through that neighborhood to meet his team, except that it used to be a marshland. All sorts of stories about the village and the people who lived there and I couldn't keep hating them. Not when I could see how nice and friendly they could be, and not when my precious person loved them so much. And now that I know why they hate, it's easier to understand them. I still don't like it, but it just makes me more determined to show them that they're wrong, that I'm not a demon."

Gaara looked out at the village trying to see what Naruto saw; a village of people worth saving, worth the scorn and the uphill battle for acknowledgment. He didn't really see it, nor understand Naruto's motivations, but he resolved to keep trying. And just the thought of those in Suna seeing him as a worthy individual and leader cemented his determination and made his heart feel lighter than ever before.

* * *

"I don't remember learning about pensieves in third year." Cedric Diggory commented as he looked at the titles of some of the books piled around the boy-who-lived. "or truth serum for that matter."

"It's not for homework." Harry replied looking up from his reading. "I'm looking up the different ways you can testify in court for my legal suit."

Finally after months of trying a trial date was given. There were many contributing reasons for the ministry to suddenly give in to Harry's attempts. Firstly, through all the petitions various students have signed, some common sense and the 8th wonder of the wizarding world (the Hogwarts rumor mill), everybody knew about Harry's attempts to sue the Daily Prophet for slander and the ministry for Sirius' compensation many months ago. Some students owled their parents with the news, those parents gossiped with their co-workers, and eventually the rumor of the ministry purposely abusing the justice system for their own (and the Daily Prophet's) benefit ran rampant in wizarding Britain. Secondly, Harry had a secret ally in the form of Madame Bones who was head of magical law enforcement. Though she had to be careful not to look as though she had special interest in the case, she could pull strings and call in favors to help. The main reason that Harry's suit got through however, was because the ministry was angry with the Daily Prophet. A week ago someone had broken into Azkaban, killed the aurors on duty and freed all of the living prisoners (apparently most people sentenced to Azkaban die within 5 years). Though only 17 people were freed, 13 were followers of Voldemort and the others were a combination of murderers, rapists and black market dealers. Though the ministry tried to keep the situation under wraps as they desperately tried to find the fugitives, discover what happened and catch the one responsible, the Prophet wasn't about to let such a big story pass them by and the majority of the articles for the following week was devoted to the Azkaban breakout and various theories on who was behind it and how they did it. The ministry, angry that the Prophet let the story out and making them deal with the public outcry and panic on top of their investigation decided to no longer protect the Prophet and let the case go through. Harry, unwilling to look a gift horse in the mouth,began to devote much of his time to prepare for the trial set to take place in a another week.

What Harry found most surprising in his research was the methods to testify however; wizards had so many methods of ensuring someone spoke the truth rather than muggles who only had someone's oath and perhaps a lie detector. But even still, many of those things were hardly, if ever, used in court. Veritaserum, the most powerful truth serum in the world, wasn't used because it forced the user to tell the whole truth; even about things unrelated to the trial. After the first few times used in court no one was willing to use it even if they were in the right for fear of what other secrets they would unwillingly divulge while under its influence (after all, among muggles and wizards alike a common method of seeming innocent is to discredit and condemn the opposition therefore turning them into the bad guy). Pensieves, while more commonly used, are also rare in court even though they provide no doubts what had happened and tampered memories are easy to spot. That is for two reasons; one pensieves are very expensive therefore there are only a few hundred of them in the whole world and secondly (mainly due to the first reason) very few people have experience with them and know how to properly isolate and take out the specific memories needed. As proof that the memories belong the individual testifying and aren't tampered with, they must remove the memories and place it in the pensieve in court. And as anyone knows who tries to think of one thing, it's never that simple. Instead of just bringing out the specific memory, people tend to take out that memory and those associated with it, which leads to other related memories. Since _all_ the given memories are seen as testimony, they are all witnessed publicly which, like the veritaserum, could lead to much embarrassment and shame for the one testifying. Magical oaths and enchanted paper admissions and weaker truth potions are the most commonly used methods in court, but clever wording and careful omission could allow those under influence to speak in half-truths. (Take Malfoy and the other "imperiused" death eaters for example – under a lesser truth potion they could honestly say that they had suffered under the cruciatus and the imperius curse by Voldemort and other death eaters and that they didn't enjoy being Voldemort's underlings. What they were able to avoid saying was that being under the imperius curse was training for death eaters (both to practice using it and to throw it off), the crucio was punishment and that while they didn't enjoy having someone more powerful than themselves (and therefore having to serve someone else) they willingly joined Voldemort and willingly killed muggles and those who went against Voldemort. Granted, those weaker potions probably would have been enough to throw those death eaters in jail had certain people not been bribed to avoid asking certain pointed questions.)

Cedric just whistled. "You're really taking this lawsuit seriously aren't you? Well, good luck with that then." Cedric replied good naturedly. He took a few steps and then turned back. "You wouldn't happen to know a way to breath underwater for an extended period of time, say an hour, would you?"

Harry paused a minute in thought. He knew some chakra techniques to slow your pulse and breathing that would let him stay under whatever for a few minutes, but nowhere near a full hour. "Sorry, nothing comes to mind. If Hermione wasn't in muggle studies right now she might've thought of something; she knows the most random things. Does it have to do with the second task?"

"Yeah," Cedric answered, a bit disappointed (but not surprised) that Harry didn't have an answer for him. "Oh well, there's got to be something I can use. Good luck with your lawsuit."

Harry wished the older boy good luck in his search as well as he went back to his book. It wasn't until a half hour later that Harry would stumble across something that really perked his interest.

'Legilimency and occlumency, huh....'

* * *

Sasuke took in the scene in front of him with cool eyes and a stand-offish attitude. Naruto was being hugged by Yukie, or Princess Koyuki as she is actually named. Sakura was looking on with half fondness, half annoyance; which is a usual look for her in concern to their blond teammate. Kakashi; well he was experiencing some sort of fit resulting from the knowledge that his beloved books 'Icha Icha' would soon become a movie franchise. It seemed like he didn't know whether to go down on his knees and thank Kami or stab himself with a kunai to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Sadly enough, this wasn't an uncommon occurrence for team 7 – well, except for the Kakashi thing. He's usually standing off to the side aloofly reading his pervy books. But the sight of Naruto being hugged and praised by their client while Sakura becomes half annoyed half amused and Sasuke stands off to the side ever vigilant and cold is a common scene. Sasuke resisted the urge to sigh; that dobe could probably make friends with a brick wall if he tried.

While sometimes Sasuke didn't mind Naruto's behavior, and occasionally approved of it (it made dealing with clients easier if they cooperated willingly and left him alone to bother Naruto), he just didn't understand why the blond never got in trouble for breaking the ninja rules so blatantly and smearing the professional image of Konoha so thoroughly in the dirt. Hell, some of the strongest and most influential ninjas (like Jiraiya, Tsunade and Kakashi) seemed to even encourage it. It wasn't professional or appropriate for any shinobi, let alone a shinobi of the strongest village in the world to yell, hug or do anything the dobe did with their clients. Even their clients seemed doubtful and insulted whenever they first met the blond; well they did until Naruto somehow inevitably won them over despite staying the same hyper-active idiot they had at first disproved of. Granted, Sasuke didn't live his life by the ninja code either, but he at least followed a majority of them, especially while on missions. Some of those rules were just plain common sense and others were just too important to ignore. The rules were put in place for a reason; they insure the longevity and success of a ninja. Why else would _all _the ninja villages teach them?

But despite Naruto's debatable impressive ability to make friends with anyone (and probably anything), Sasuke was more concerned with another aspect of his blue-eyed teammate – his strength, which seemed to be growing by the day. The Uchiha didn't consider himself a vain person, but he did admit to himself the thought of the dobe catching up to him – let alone surpassing him – in terms of skill was worrisome. This was the supposed dead-last of the class after all, and having him able to challenge the supposed genius of the class was just absurd. And it looked like Naruto's skills would just continue to improve as time went on; he was now a student of one of the legendary Sannin for goodness sake (the same sannin who had already trained a Hokage).

The last true Uchiha's fists clenched as he thought about his teammate's increasing strength – and thus, in his own mind, his own increasing weakness. How was he to beat his genius of geniuses brother, master of the sharingan and former ANBU captain if he couldn't beat his clumsy, hyper-active and dumb dead-last teammate? It was clear that even though he was now officially a ninja, the gap between the skill level of the two brothers were as far apart now as it had been when he had been merely an 8 year old child and Itachi had been an ANBU captain. Any delusions he might have had about catching up were quickly beaten out of him during that encounter with Itachi a month ago – even though he tried to use the chidori, a world-renown assassination technique Itachi batted him away like a fly and then proceeded to land him in the hospital for over a week.

It was galling that his brother would just dismiss him so easily; especially considering that the grand majority of Sasuke's thoughts, actions and goals were directly influenced by the one who had barely spared him the effort to incapacitate him; so focused on his blond teammate to notice Itachi's own murderous younger brother. The avenger's teeth gnashed the more he thought about it; why was his brother after the dobe in the first place?

Thoughts of his brother and the dobe brought about another memory in the young ninja; the last thing Itachi told him before leaving Konoha as a missing nin. The young Uchiha could clearly hear his brother's voice telling him to get powerful enough to destroy him, and more importantly how to get that power.

The Mangekyou sharingan was a form of his bloodline limit that is so powerful that in the history of the clan only a select few have ever achieved it. It was with that power that Itachi was able to slaughter such an elite clan of ninjas, and it was only with that power could Sasuke hope to avenge that massacre. Unfortunately the cost for gaining that power was quite high; you had to murder your best friend. The dark-haired pre-teen gave his teammate a shrewd look; was he willing to pay the price?

A few years ago such a thought would have been unthinkable; not so much because he thought himself incapable of such actions, but more because circumstances made the probability of Sasuke gaining the advanced form of his bloodline limit unlikely. The young Uchiha had always been somewhat of a loner, even before the massacre he had usually spent most of his time away from his peers preferring to reserve human interaction with only kin. Now that the Uchiha clan was gone, Sasuke had isolated himself to a whole new degree, not even replying to polite small talk or greetings, except sometimes with a grunt. Therefore the idea of Sasuke having a best to friend to kill (let alone actually killing them) wasn't something the last Uchiha really thought about.

But with the reappearance of his brother Sasuke had to seriously think about his role as avenger for his clan. And to fulfill his role he needed the mangekyou. But was he really willing to kill Naruto to get it? For Sasuke knew that Naruto was the only one he could even consider his friend, let alone best friend. Despite his best efforts at keeping the world away at arm's length, the dobe's uncanny ability to make friends with the prickliest of individuals applied to himself as well, even if their friendship consisted more of fighting and insulting each other than anything else.

'_Those who abandon the rules are trash...but those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash_.'

Kakashi's words echoed in his head; it was the first thing their sensei had taught them and one thing he emphasized over and over again. But wasn't it worth it? For the power to stop such a strong madman as Itachi? It's not like Naruto would be widely missed; he was an orphan and many people from Konoha outright resented the blond; probably for the inane pranks he played and the blond's downright rude and crass behavior. And if Sasuke did decide to do the deed, could he actually go through with it? While he would like to scoff at the idea of him having any reservations, the mission in Wave country pushed itself to the forefront of his mind, most notably when he jumped in front of the idiot to take what he had originally thought was a killing blow. Even now, months later, Sasuke couldn't say what had gone through his mind then and what had possessed him to sacrifice himself for the sake of his teammate.

Unfortunately the dark-haired boy's serious inner pondering were rudely cut off by a loud, bright, annoyance.

"Are you going to stand there all day brooding all day Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked, rudely invading the Uchiha's personal space. "Come on; what are you doing sulking in a corner? We rescued a princess, liberated a country, the weather's great, the food's good and everyone is celebrating! Get that stick out of your ass and join the party!"

That said the blond grabbed his teammates arm and dragged the other boy to the middle of the crowds before the Uchiha could argue. And Sasuke thought that as much as he had debated over it before, at this moment he was quite willing to kill his best friend – even without the added bonus of gaining the mangekyou sharingan.

* * *

The lights turned off, the door was closed and locked (with both traditional locks and security spells), but Harry stayed where he was, silent and still. It was only twenty minutes later did Harry feel safe enough to move, changing his henge, so instead of appearing as a fern he took the shape of some random muggle he had seen in a toothpaste commercial once. He would have dispelled the henge completely, but he didn't know the full lengths of what wizards were capable of in terms of surveillance and considering that he was in the Minister for Magic's office, well he didn't want to take any chances on being caught.

If Hermione knew what her friend was up to she would have a fit, but fortunately the bushy-haired girl had no idea. With how much his female best friend stressed about breaking curfew, Harry didn't want to imagine how she'd react to him outside of Hogwarts without permission, sneaking into the Ministry of Magic, and waiting until nightfall when the whole place was empty in order to rummage through confidential papers to gather blackmail and evidence against the government – all while breaking curfew!

Though, it wasn't so much "sneaking in"; the ministry, hoping to avoid the bad press due to the now common knowledge that they still hadn't paid Harry the promised Sirius Black compensation money and unwilling to go to court over it had decided to settle the matter with Harry themselves. Harry officially got the money (with interest over the time they hadn't paid it) a few days ago, but of course it took a while for the funds to go through. Just this morning Harry had visited the bank to ensure he got the full amount, which he then used to pay the goblins for his goblin forged weapons now safely stowed away in one of his shrinking trunks. He then went to the ministry to let them sign some paperwork saying that he did get the money and everything was just fine between them. What those in the ministry didn't know was the Harry never left afterwards, planing henged clones where he needed them (when the offices were empty during breaks) and waiting himself under henge in the minister's office.

But as much as Hermione would argue against what he was doing, this course of action was needed both for his legal suit and for the fight against Voldemort. For even though no one besides Dumbledore and the Order of Phoenix believed in the Dark Lord's return, Harry was certain that Voldemort was back. Almost a month ago he had woken up from a dream with his scar burning and a gut knowledge that something big involving Voldemort had just happened. Then, not even a week later someone broke into Azkaban and freed the inmates, which included Voldemort's incarcerated supporters. People who were against Voldemort and his policies, muggleborns and muggles were also starting to disappear again, and/or were suffering unfortunate accidents. It wasn't to such a degree to be alarming, but if you looked for the signs they were there. But what really proved the Dark Lord's rise was the missing prophecy from the Department of Mysteries; a prophecy that only Harry or Voldemort would have been able to take. And since Harry didn't take it...

Granted, very few people knew that the prophecy had been taken, or that there had even been a prophecy concerning Harry and Voldemort so the evidence of Voldemort's return was less than soundproof. Not to mention that Fudge didn't even want to admit to a dark wizard being active, let alone the fact that Voldemort was back. Therefore Dumbledore and the Order were working very carefully, unwilling to tip their hand to either Voldemort or the ministry.

And that is why this course of action was important; with Dumbledore watched and curtailed by the ministry and with Fudge and other self-serving incompetents in charge the wizarding world will be given to Voldemort on a silver platter. If he could find any incriminating evidence than he could help clean up the ministry and make things easier for hard working employees like Bones.

With his widely publicized (except by the Daily Prophet) trial the next day, Harry knew he couldn't stay too long; not to mention he still wasn't sure of all the security measures within the ministry. So while he himself would be looking through Fudge's office, his shadow clones (also henged to look like the same random muggle) would be looking through the offices of the twenty-five top ministry personnel, including the Heads of the departments (even Arthur Weasley and Amelia Bones, though Harry knew he wouldn't find anything there) and the offices of the minister's undersecretaries and chief of staff. They're ordered to take anything of interest, and to leave fakes if possible. Once an hour has passed, if they are finished collecting evidence they'll floo out. Harry also had an accomplice on the wing just in case he was unable caught or unable to escape via floo.

For the meantime however, all thoughts of escape and worries of being caught were pushed to the back of his mind as he started to look through some sensitive documents.

* * *

**Q&A**

**I'm a little disappointed by how easily Tsunade threw off Naruto's spells. Is it because he's not strong enough, or are the spells that much weaker?**

It's a bit of both; wandless spells are much weaker than when using a wand, though with practice they will strengthen to almost the same level. Harry and Naruto are still fairly new at wandless spells, since they're are pretty much making it up as they go so at this point in time they aren't half as strong as a regular jutsu or spell. But the main reason the spells were thrown off so easily was because of who the victim was; Tsunade. Tsunade is just very good at controlling her own chakra; she has a technique which can heal all of her body's injuries simultaneously! Therefore it makes sense to me that she would quickly know if there is foreign chakra trying to effect her in some way and be quick to throw it off. Naruto's attempts at using the same wandless spells at anyone else would work far better.

**Why doesn't Harry use the basilisk to raise money for the weapons (which I'm assuming is going with him and not going back to the goblins)?**

Basically because Harry wants to keep the basilisk with him to use himself. The only really valuable parts of a basilisk are the skin, the fangs and the venom, all of which Harry has decided to pack away in his trunks in his emergency supplies. You can think of the basilisk as a backup plan if he couldn't find another way to raise the money needed (though now the point is moot since Harry finally got the compensation money from the ministry which he used to pay the goblins).

**When Harry and Naruto's bond breaks and Harry goes to the Naruto world, will they still share the mindscape or not? F****rom what I can see is that the bond would only break if they stay in different world so when Harry goes to Naruto's world the bond might even strengthen.**

Hmmm....good question. Originally I was going to have the bond dissolve once they were reunited, since the point of the bond was to bridge the two realities, and once there was no bridge there would be no point in the bond. I hadn't even considered keeping it, but it could make for an intriguing plot development.....

For now I'm undecided, so this question won't be answered until Harry and Naruto do meet.

**Harry and/or Naruto acting out of character: **

So far I haven't had many complaints about this, but I did want to address it anyway. Being OOC without a plausible cause is one of my major pet peeves in a fic, so if you don't understand why I have Harry or Naruto act the why they do, feel free to ask about it so I can clarify. This is specifically to Darkan: I can't reply directly since you aren't signed in, so I thought I'd answer here. You've left a few reviews about Harry in particular switching characters from what I've made him in this AU to more of a canon!Harry mentality and back, so I'll explain my reasoning here. First off, Harry's progress in the shinobi arts. You thought he should have progressed faster than he was. Well, Harry's only access to the shinobi arts is Naruto, therefore his progress depends on Naruto's progress and knowledge. Take the henge for example; Naruto didn't understand it and couldn't master it, forcing him to invent his own method. Harry therefore is learning Naruto's much harder and unconventional method which took him longer to master than it would have for the original henge. For the most part I think I've already explained Harry's and Naruto's progresses or lack thereof, but again feel free to ask if I wasn't clear. Secondly you asked about Harry's reaction to Sirius' death, considering in this fic they were virtually strangers and therefore didn't have the canon relationship. But Harry wasn't so much upset that Sirius died, but more the fact of what Sirius represented for only a short amount of time – an adult who would go through hell for him, someone who would put Harry first, who he could depend on and be a kid around. Basically a father. And as much as Harry tried to convince himself that he doesn't want or need that, he was just an eleven year old boy. So Harry's mourning of Sirius is more of him mourning the fact that deep down he really wants to be an average kid with a parent/adult he can trust/love/rely on and the realisation that that dream was killed before he even truly acknowledged it.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: I don't own either Naruto or Harry Potter; if I did I definately wouldn't be writing fanfiction for free.

And thank you for everyone who reviewed! :)

* * *

"All in favor of the plaintive, Harry Potter, please raise your hands." Madame Bones, acting as judge in her capacity as Head of Magical Law Enforcement for the trial, asked. Harry watched as the majority of the members within the wizengamont raised their hands. "All in favor of the defendants, SPS Corporation, please raise your hands." It was immediately noticeable that the number of hands for the defendants was significantly less than for the plaintive.

The court room exploded in noise as people began talking and cameras began flashing. Due to Harry's high profile and the rumors that had ran rampant for months as the Daily Prophet had successfully dodged each lawsuit attempt, many people had decided to come watch the proceedings, from the curious public, rival media sources and almost every single member of the wizengamont (though for any given trial at least fifteen members must come to act as jurors – unless it has to do with ministry affairs where they'd act as judge and prosecutors.)

Madame Bones slammed the gavel down. "Order! The wizengamont has spoken, thus Harry Potter will be awarded 50% of the Daily Prophet shares owned by SPS Corporation, and a further 500 galleons for slander against his person. Courtroom is dismissed."

Harry barely had enough time to shake hands with his lawyer before a flash of flame and an unearthly beautiful song rang throughout the cavernous room, instantly grabbing everybody's attention. Hundreds of eyes watched as Fawkes the phoenix made a small circuit of the room before landing before his human companion, Albus Dumbledore, and dropping off what looked to be a large bundle wrapped in non-descript brown paper. There was a single sheet on top of the bundle, which the Head of the Wizengamont bemusedly picked up to read. The murmurs of confusion that spread through the room was interrupted as the reputed strongest wizard of the age picked up his wand and swore an oath on his magic.

"I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, do swear on my magic on this day February the 19th in the year 1994, that I have no previous knowledge as to the contents within the package delivered to me by my familiar Fawkes the phoenix on this very day in the ministry, Courtroom 10. I also swear on my magic that, to the best of my knowledge, the contents of the package were not acquired by illegal means."

After that unexpected oath, the murmurs grew ever louder, only to be cut off again a few minutes later once Dumbledore finished skimming through the papers within the package.

"I am calling an emergency Wizengamont meeting, for tomorrow Sunday February the 20th. Minister Fudge; I expect for you, both the junior and senior undersecretaries, and all the ministry Heads to be available when called tomorrow as well. That is all I have to say at the moment, so I will take my leave and return to Hogwarts; farewell."

The courtroom again exploded in noise as the elderly man disappeared with the bundle of papers in a flash of flames, courtesy of Fawkes. Everyone started to speculate on Dumbledore's actions, the contents of the mysterious package, and why Dumbledore felt the need to make a magical oath about its contents. Harry let the noise wash over him as he unobtrusively escaped from the courtroom and made his way to the lift. He had no need to speculate as he already knew what the package contained – he was the one who sent it. Including the letter he left on top, telling Dumbledore to make that oath before opening the package with letters cut and pasted from the Daily Prophet.

The lengths in which Harry went through just to deliver a package seemed kind of extreme, but it was necessary. To understand the reasoning, first you must be aware of the role of the wizengamont in relation to the ministry of magic.

The ministry is technically the real power amongst the people; they are the ones who make the laws, write the bills, and arrest those who have done wrong. Like its muggle counterpart, the minister must be voted into office. The wizengamont however, is the overseer of the ministry – even if they hold no direct power over the people. The ministry makes and proposes laws, but it is the wizengamont who decides whether to pass it or refuse it. They don't have the power to arrest or prosecute any given citizen (though they do act as jurors for their trials), but they do have the power to prosecute anyone from the ministry, notably those who abuse their power. Unlike the ministry, the public does not choose who holds a position within the wizengamont. There are a total of 200 seats, no more, no less (though they are usually not all filled, as some – like Harry – who hold a seat or two are too young to claim it, or some just can't be bothered to perform their duties and have not yet appointed a representative). Most of them are held by old families, and are thus passed down and are inherited by the new generation. But for those families who have died out or have their seats revoked (such as the Lestrange family where all the living members are convicted criminals), seats are appointed based on contributions towards the wizarding society (such as muggle-born Susan Hothway gaining a seat for her discovery of the soothing properties of murtlap essence and half-blood Alfred Ellington gaining a seat for inventing the Wizarding Wireless). Decisions on who the new members and the Head of the wizengamont ought to be are decided by majority voting of current members. Since the wizengamont acts as the supervising force of the ministry, it is frowned upon to hold both a high ministry position and a seat of the wizengamont so there is no conflict of business; usually once someone reaches a position of power within the ministry they allow a relative to take their seat in the wizengamont (which is why Lucius had never run for minister, preferring to run things in the background).

Due to their role of policing the ministry, all members of the wizengamont (the Chief Warlock specifically) are granted access to any and all official ministry documents. But, even though they have the right to all documents, the ministry isn't forced to hand them over or even offer information about any documents. This means that almost all high-up ministry officials have made dozens secret, but ministry approved, deals or orders that the wizengamont have no idea exist, let alone proof that they do. Until now that is. And with the way it was delivered – via a phoenix, notoriously resilient to being controlled or influenced by outside sources as well as synonymous with good and noble – along with Dumbledore's oath, well there was no way to prove that the documents were procured by illegal means and therefore there was no way they could be dismissible in court. Which meant that starting tomorrow, there was going to be some drastic changes within the ministry.

* * *

It was late in the evening, and even though the famed Copy-nin was supposed to be well on his way to the Fire/Grass Country border to deliver a scroll to those patrolling in that area, he instead was currently still within the giant walls of the city. It was rare that a jounin sensei would be assigned solo missions – especially when the students were still genin – but after the invasion Konoha couldn't afford to look weak or vulnerable, which meant that they were accepting as many missions as possible and making use of every chunnin and jounin they had while genin were kept busy rebuilding and cleaning up Konoha itself. But despite the mission given to him, Kakashi was putting it off while searching through the many training grounds in the all but abandoned Uchiha district for his dark-haired student.

When he had first been assigned to team 7, he had quickly formed the closest bond with the last Uchiha. It was hard not to; they were very much alike. Where Naruto caused bittersweet memories due to his Obito-like personality and mini-Minato looks, and Sakura (and all fan girls for that matter) was just beyond Kakashi's understanding, Sasuke had been a kindred spirit. They had both been orphaned at a young age via traumatic means and both were forced to live with the burden of the village's expectations as the last of their once formidable clans. Both were considered geniuses, they were among the only people left in the world with a sharingan eye, they both had a strong affinity to lightning and both had the same stand-offish attitude at that age, drowning themselves in their training as an outlet only cemented the bond.

It was for this reason that Kakashi felt he knew his young student quite well, and why he knew that if he left Sasuke as he was – stewing over his teammate's successes and his own perceived failures – no good would come from it. Finally he caught sight of the Uchiha.

"Wha-?" Sasuke exclaimed as he was quite suddenly tied to the tree he had been resting on.

"I just wanted to make sure you'd hear me out; last time you walked out on me." Kakashi explained with an exaggerated sweet smile (though only his eye and tone of voice gave it away) as he landed in front of the Uchiha.

"Untie me now Kakashi! I don't have time for this!" Sasuke growled angrily. He wasn't in the mood to be placated; he needed to get back to training if he wanted get stronger, not sit there listening to empty words.

"No." The white-haired jounin replied, tone turning uncharacteristically serious. "Sasuke, you need to stop seeking vengeance."

Kakashi ignored his student's enraged expression and growl and continued his lecture. "I've been a shinobi for 20 years; I've seen what happens to those who can't let go, who become obsessed with getting revenge. It consumes them until nothing else matters; their loved ones, their friends all become second thoughts until they become mere shells of themselves. And for those who do manage to get their revenge...they are left with nothing but emptiness. This path will only lead to more suffering and hurt, for you and those around you..."

"Shut up!" Sasuke interrupted, screaming in anger and frustration. "You don't know what you're talking about! You have no idea...!"

"What would you do?" the genin asked once he had calmed down a bit. "Huh? What would you do if I killed everyone you love and care about? Would you still believe that vengeance wasn't the right path?"

"Well, I guess you could kill everyone close to me," Kakashi replied with fake good humor, "but unfortunately you're too late; all of my loved ones died either in the Third Great Shinobi War or during the Kyuubi attack."

Sasuke was taken aback at the matter of fact statement and remained silent.

Kakashi sighed in resignation; he was a very private person and hated talking of his past – especially the more painful experiences of his past – but if it meant saving one of his students from making some very bad decisions, Kakashi was willing to divulge some of his history. He was really turning soft now that he'd accepted a genin team...

"Have you ever heard of Uchiha Obito?" the masked-man asked his student. At Sasuke's blank expression Kakashi guessed the right answer. "I guess not..."

"He wasn't part of the main branch of the Uchiha clan, would've been something like your third cousin twice removed, and was generally regarded as a failure of the Uchiha. He didn't take his training seriously until after he became a genin, didn't awaken his sharingan until after he became a chunnin, was constantly late and was more boastful than Naruto with less power to back it up. And he was my teammate."

"Much like you I resented my teammates; I had already been a chunnin for many years when they became fresh genin, and I felt that they were holding me back from my full potential since we'd have to take easier missions so it wasn't above their capabilities. It wasn't until it was too late did I realize his importance to me; that my grief over my father's death and my obsession of the shinobi rules due to his perceived failures had blinded me to what was right in front of me."

"Don't make the same mistake I did; Naruto and Sakura are good teammates who care for you and will follow you through hell and back. They can help you take on Itachi, and more importantly they'll give you something to live for once you've gotten your revenge."

"It's true that neither of us has been particularly lucky in the past with our precious people, but we haven't got it that bad either. While we can't bring back those we've lost, we have found new precious companions; just make sure you don't take them for granted in your obsession over those that you've already lost."

There was silence for a while as Sasuke digested what his sensei had said. Kakashi didn't bother interrupting his student's pensive mood and cut the Uchiha loose before using the body-flicker technique to be on his way and finally set out for his mission.

Kakashi would have liked to stay longer and ensure his talk hit home with his student, but he was already pushing the envelope too much by postponing his assignment (and even with his usual reputation for tardiness, he would have to travel at full speed to make time). Besides, he would be back in Konoha no later than noon tomorrow; what was the worst that could happen between now and then?

It was too bad that the combination of digging up painful memories and his rush to get to his mission made Kakashi more unfocused and careless than usual; else he would have noticed the chakra signatures of the four Sound shinobi hidden nearby, waiting for the opportunity to lure the Uchiha away to Orochimaru.

* * *

His muscles burned, his lungs ached but the blond refused to slow down. In fact, he even picked up his pace, ignoring his body's complaints as he desperately chased his teammate towards the border of Rice Fields Country and Fire Country; where the infamous Valley of the End was located.

He couldn't understand just why Sasuke was running away from him; did he really want to go to that traitorous snake bastard? Did he really want to turn his back on his training, his village, his friends? All for the sake of power and revenge?

Naruto's hands clenched just thinking about it. Somewhere behind him, their friends and comrades were fighting for their lives, all for Sasuke's sake. And what does the bastard do about it? He runs away to a known traitor of his own free will, making all their battles, their injuries and maybe (though hopefully not) their deaths, worthless. Well, not on his watch! The demon container would haul the Uchiha back by force if need be, but there was no way he'd let Sasuke spit on their efforts and run away to the snake sannin.

Finally the dark haired genin realized that he'd have to confront his stubborn teammate if he wanted to take up Orochimaru's offer. It was just as well; Sasuke had been dying to have an all-out battle with the blond, to finally see once and for all which of them was stronger. He came to a stop right outside Fire country's border, on the head of the giant statue of Uchiha Madara, his ancestor. The last Uchiha waited until the dobe finally caught up, stopping directly across from him on the head of the giant statue of Senju Harishama. Sasuke couldn't help but find it ironic that this was where they would have their fight before the dark-haired ninja would cut all ties to his former teammate and village; history was once again repeating itself.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled out, clearly enraged at his teammates actions. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Leaving the village, without even bringing your hitai-ite?!" Naruto asked, pulling out said forehead protector that the Uchiha had left behind with the unconscious Sakura.

"I don't need it anymore." Sasuke replied in a tone that made it clear he thought Naruto was an idiot for not understanding that fact.

"Bastard, stop saying stupid things like that! Now get over here and put on your headband so we can go back to the village!" the blond demanded.

Sasuke ignored the blond, turning away dismissively – even now the Uchiha was unable to resist spurring his teammate on. "Still as stupid as ever, huh dobe? Let me spell it out for you; I'm done wasting my time playing ninja with you. If I ever want to have the power to avenge my clan I can't spend time in Konoha doing the useless missions the Hokage assigns us. I'm leaving Konoha and I'm never coming back."

Naruto, enraged at his teammate's words, leapt across the giant gap between the two statues to knock some sense into his teammate – literally.

"Tch," Sasuke grunted, easily able to block the punch and counter due to the time it took for the blond to reach him, throwing Naruto off of the statue and down to the raging waters at the base of the waterfall hundreds of feet below. Naruto quickly made a chain of shadow clones to catch his fall and launch him right back up to his teammate.

"You are wasting your time dobe," Sasuke said as he dodged a kick and tried landing a punch into the blonde's ribs. "Orochimaru is willing to give me the help that Konoha won't."

"So you're going to that snake asshole?!" Naruto asked outraged, launching another attack at the dark-haired pre-teen. "The one responsible for hundreds of deaths; including the Third Hokage?!"

"Orochimaru will give me power; with him my abilities won't become stagnant and my skills will grow." The Uchiha replied calmly, even as he was forced on the defensive.

"That jerk is just using you!" Naruto yelled out, frustration with his obtuse teammate causing his attacks to be sloppier and more aggressive than they usually were in spares with his teammate. "He wants to use your body for his immortality jutsu!"

Sasuke turned back to his frothing teammate.

"I know."

Whatever Naruto was going to say died in his throat. However he expected Sasuke to react to the truth of the snake sannin's intentions for him – rage, denial, betrayal – calm acknowledgment and acceptance was definitely not it.

"You...know?" Naruto asked, beyond perplexed. His attacks stopped as he tried to process that fact. "You know that the bastard is only using you, that when he's done with you you'll be dead...and you're okay with that?"

"As long as Itachi dies, any price is worth paying." Sasuke replied with one hundred percent conviction, taking advantage of Naruto's stupefaction to launch the fireball jutsu at the blond.

Naruto found himself at a loss for words and numbly dodged the fire, forcing him to block the incoming kick that was coming straight for him. He knew of Sasuke's vow to avenge his family and kill his brother, but until now he didn't quite grasp just how seriously Sasuke took that vow and to just what lengths his teammate was willing to go through to make it a reality.

"Cut it out teme!" Naruto yelled, trying and failing to gain the upper-hand in the fight. "You don't have to go to that bastard in order to kill your brother; you can get strong enough in Konoha! Me, Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei can help you!"

"Don't be stupid!" Sasuke yelled out, attacking more savagely than before and forcing both combatants off of the statue and onto the turbulent river below. "What can you or Sakura do against someone like Itachi, except get in the way?"

"Is that what you really think?" Naruto asked, catching Sasuke's arm and pulling it down so his off-balanced teammate's chin would impact solidly with his raising knee. "That we're so useless that we would just be in your way? Has being on team 7 been really that pointless to you?"

"Being on team 7 did serve a point..." Sasuke admitted, blocking the blond's knee with his other hand and flipping upside down to deliver a solid kick to Naruto's chest, creating some distance between the two combatants.

"If I hadn't been on team 7, you'd never have become my best friend..." Sasuke said, thinking of Itachi's words on how to gain the mangekyou sharingan.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto asked, watching as Sasuke started forming a chidori while charging forwards. Reflexively the blond started forming a rasengan in reply as he too charged forward.

The two high-powered techniques collide, throwing back both genin into the cliff walls on either side of the river hard enough to form indentations at the points of impact.

"Enough of this; I've wasted enough time here with you." Sasuke stated as the blond finally found his feet at the bank of the river after prying himself off of the cliff side. Naruto watched in morbid fascination as a pulse of tainted chakra emerged from the dark-haired boy as comma-like black marks started slithering over Sasuke's skin, ending up covering half of the Uchiha's body. It soon became apparent to the blond that those marks were more than decoration; Sasuke was suddenly faster, stronger and more powerful than ever before, forcing Naruto on the defensive as their fight continued at a higher intensity. The only good thing that resulted in Sasuke's sudden transformation was that it forced Naruto to calm down a bit and take the fight a bit more seriously. Now, not as fraught with emotion and realising that the Uchiha was aiming to kill, Naruto wasn't hitting as wildly and haphazardly as before.

Both combatants were surprisingly quiet compared to just a little while earlier, both focused on the fight and letting the sound of grunts, crumbling stone, small explosions and other battle related noise fill in their sudden silence – well, at least for a few minutes.

"Teme...!" Naruto growled out, frustrated that all his efforts at subduing his sad excuse for a teammate via breaking all the Uchiha's bones was being thwarted by said teammate. "Stop being stupid and stay still so I can drag your sorry ass back home!"

"I already told you; I'm done with the Leaf village. There is nothing else for me there." Sasuke replied, dodging a hail of kunai. "Quit being stubborn and trying to convince me to go back; you who had never had a family, and never had to go through the pain of losing them, don't understand me or my motivations. You won't stop me from doing what I have to do."

Naruto caught Sasuke by the back of his shirt and threw him into the cliff wall, pinning him down before the Uchiha had time to react.

"I may not have had a family like you or Sakura-chan," Naruto conceded, keeping hold of his struggling teammate "So I might not fully understand what it's like to have a real family, but I still have precious people. O-jiji was like a grandfather, and Iruka is like a father. And I thought you and me are like brothers; that our team was like family. And that's why I can't let you go to that snake bastard and just throw your life away like this!"

Sasuke was taken aback at the blond's conviction; Naruto really did consider themselves as brothers and the dobe would really do whatever it took to prevent Sasuke from making this 'mistake'. Suddenly his eyes began to burn, not unlike it had when he had first realized that Naruto meant more to him than any given random stranger during the Wave mission, when he had first developed the sharingan. Sure enough, when he next opened his eyes details seemed clearer, the water seemed to flow slower and Sasuke knew that his sharingan had developed.

"Pass me my hitai-tie."

Naruto numbly let go of his teammate in shock. "What?"

"My forehead protector; the one you brought all the way from Konoha? Pass it to me."

Naruto reached into his pocket to retrieve said item and handed it back to its rightful owner.

"I still won't come back with you to Konoha," Sasuke explained as he tied the headband firmly on his forehead. It was the least he could do for the teammate who helped him manifest and then develop his sharingan; and cause of Sasuke gaining the mangekyou sharingan soon as well. "But, since it seems to mean so much to you, I will wear this for our last fight."

Naruto didn't really know how to respond to that; on one hand it seemed that his rival finally acknowledged Naruto as an equal and a comrade, but with the same breath he declared his intentions to betray that bond and leave, never to return.

Sasuke didn't give the blond much time to sort out his thoughts; as soon as the hitai-ite was on the Uchiha was on the offensive, using the power of his newly developed sharingan to increase the pace and intensity of the fight. Naruto, caught flat-footed at the sudden assault, was barely able to keep up and was unable to turn the tide of the battle.

The Uchiha finally delivered a solid blow, knocking Naruto back by several feet clutching his abdomen as the wind was knocked out him.

"If you're having so much trouble fighting me now Naruto, I'd hate to see how you fare against the power Orochimaru gave me." Sasuke commented with a sadistic smile.

Once again Naruto looked on as the same tainted chakra was released into the air, further changing his teammate. The Uchiha's black hair became dark grey and even spikier. His skin went from the usual paleness to a greyish-brown only a few shades lighter than his hair. His red sharingan became even more demonic as the pupils turned a sickly yellow and the white's of his eyes became black. But the most disturbing part of his transformation was the claw-like protrusions from the Uchiha's back; each nearly as big as the rest of Sasuke's body.

Naruto barely had enough time to gape at his teammate's new twisted form before Sasuke was on him again, attacking relentlessly. The blond wasn't doing a very good job keeping up, getting hit more often than blocking. He searched desperately inside himself for more chakra, more power; as large as his reservoirs were, he had already used up a fair bit before this fight even started, trying to run fast enough to catch up to his teammate after Sasuke's (and the Sound Four's) five hour head-start, and then in the fights with the Sound Four (granted that Naruto only ended up fighting for a short period before one of the other members on the Sasuke retrieval team took over).

And just like the other two times in his life where he desperately searched inside himself for more power, he found it; the Kyuubi's chakra. The first time Naruto used it was during the wave mission, when he had thought Sasuke had died. It had only been for a short amount of time – just long enough to break Haku's ice prison – but the blond could still remember how his feelings of anger and devastation had seemed augmented and how out of control of his body and mind had been for a minute. The second time had been when Ero-sensei had tossed him off a cliff; fearful for his life Naruto had scrapped and gathered every bit of chakra he could find – demonic or not – in order to have enough to summon a toad large enough to save him. It had worked, but Gamabunta had requested that Naruto abstain from using the Kyuubi's chakra when summoning, not liking the tainted feel or the potential repercussions from using said chakra. Naruto had complied and had spent the last week before the third stage of the chunnin exams working on summoning the boss toad only using his own chakra. Even when fighting Gaara, Naruto had not used the Kyuubi's power.

But this time, instead of the chakra just coming to him, Naruto suddenly found himself somewhere unfamiliar.

"Wha...?" Naruto muttered, taking in the dank cavern with a ceiling so high it was lost in shadows. "Hello? Sasuke...?"

Naruto cursed the fact that he was so weak against genjutsu, and tried disturbing his flow of chakra.

"Kai!"

Seeing how nothing had changed, the blond then pinched himself hard, trying to break out of the illusion using pain.

"Itai!"

To the blue-eyed genin's displeasure, there was still no change to the dreary scenery. Except for a sudden deep, booming – and malicious sounding – chuckle.

Naruto hesitantly followed the noise until he reached a giant set of barred doors, held together by a seal. The hairs at the back of his neck stood up on end at the feel of this place, and Naruto knew that nothing good would come from this.

"So, after so long the brat finally deems to visit...." the deep voice spoke as enormous red eyes pierced the darkness form the other side of the seal.

"K-Kyuubi...." Naruto murmured, wide-eyed as the demonic fox stepped forward allowing the young ninja to have a full view of its enormous form. If this was the being responsible for the attack all those years ago, the blond didn't blame the other villagers for still fearing and hating it even when sealed away for nearly 12 years.

"What a pitiful creature you are," the nine-tailed beast commented, looking down at the small boy with disdain. "To think that such a lowly bag of flesh would be my keeper...disgraceful."

"Like you're one to talk, you stupid fox!" the blond yelled out, overcoming his initial fear in the face of yet another person underestimating him and deeming him worthless. "Why'd you bring me here anyway? I don't have time to waste here with you; I need to bring Sasuke back to Konoha!"

"Stupid mortal," the Kyuubi growled. "I didn't bring you here; you came here yourself. And you need not worry about the outside world; time passes differently here than on the mortal plane. For all the time you spend here, only a moment will pass outside."

Calmed at the knowledge that his teammate won't do a runner while he was busy with the Kyuubi, Naruto realized what must have brought him here. "Hey stupid fox, I need some of your chakra!"

The demon growled. "You dare try and order me; the most powerful of the tailed-beasts! If it weren't for this accursed seal I'd eat you for your presumptuous attitude!"

"Hey! You've been living in me all this time; you owe me some rent! So lend me some chakra already!" Naruto ordered.

The demon fox just looked at the tiny human for a second, before laughing. "My, you are a gutsy one aren't you? Very well, I will gift you with some of my chakra..."

The next thing the blond genin knew he was once again at the Valley of the End facing his deformed teammate.

Sasuke's punch was powerful enough to send Naruto flying, but Kyuubi's chakra had cushioned it enough so it didn't really hurt, and the blond landed on his feet ready to go on the offensive. With the power boost from Kyuubi, the fight was no longer so one-sided and both opponents traded blows and jutsus trying to subdue the other and prove once and for all who was strongest. But a problem arose when Naruto was hit with one of the Uchiha's many fire-based techniques. As before, the demonic chakra rushed to the injured areas, healing the wounds almost as quickly as they were attained. But this time, instead of flowing back once the injury was healed, the demonic chakra kept coming. As more and more of the much more potent chakra flushed his system, Naruto found it harder and harder to concentrate and harder to control it. He desperately tried to stem the flow to a more manageable level as he nimbly dodged another attack.

With Naruto distracted fighting an inner battle, Sasuke had all the opportunity he needed. The Uchiha took the offered opening, and before Naruto even realized what happened he was pierced through the chest with a chidori.

Both teammates stared at each other in shared disbelief; Naruto unbelieving that Sasuke would actually use such a fatal technique and Sasuke shocked that it actually hit. The Uchiha numbly canceled the jutsu and pulled back, allowing the blond to collapse onto the ground, unable to keep himself up after such a critical hit.

Naruto had never felt such pain or despair; he couldn't breathe since his left lung collapsed, he couldn't think around the pain stabbing at his senses and yet he recognized deep within his mind that he was dying.

Suddenly there was a sudden shockwave of power, the blond genin at its source. There was so much of the chakra and it was so potent that Sasuke could have sworn that he could have seen it even without the sharingan active. It surrounded Naruto like a cocoon, healing the chidori inflicted wound until only flawless skin remained – the torn jacket and shirt being the only indicators that the blond had ever been injured. The once blue eyes turned red, vertically slit like a cat. The whisker-like scars across his face seemed to thicken and become darker and more pronounced. His nails grew longer and sharper, resembling claws that Sasuke didn't doubt worked just as well as any Inuzuka's. The blonde's hair moved to an unseen wind, seeming wilder and adding to the feral look.

The Uchiha watched in confusion. Just what power was this, and since when could his teammate wield it?

The dark-haired boy had no time to think about it though, since no sooner was the transformation complete than did his teammate attack. But unlike before, Sasuke could tell that Naruto was attacking to do as much damage as possible. The blond seemed to forget all about his ninjutsu abilities, only using his chakra as a sort of shield and occasionally as an extra limb or two as Naruto attacked almost mindlessly.

The longer they sparred, the more frustrated this new Naruto became and his attacks became wilder, more barbaric and with less finesse. Gone was the usual taijutsu moves Sasuke was familiar with, replaced with claw swipes and bites more akin to the Inuzuka style in man-beast mode. Naruto even moved like them, using all four limbs like a four-legged beast.

Sasuke couldn't decide if his teammate's transformation made the fight easier or harder; it was a lot easier to anticipate the blonde's moves and by restricting himself to this animalistic taijutsu style forced Naruto to come to the Uchiha in order to score a hit. The downside was that chakra cloak which rendered all of Sasuke's attacks useless, since it absorbed most hits and healed anything that did connect. That extra tail-like limb was also problematic since it grew and shrank at its leisure, making it very hard to keep track of and allowing the blond to score several hits and avoid other attacks. The blond also seemed faster and stronger physically in this state.

The Uchiha powered up another chidori; it had incapacitated Naruto before, and this time if Sasuke didn't hesitate after landing the blow he could finish this battle once and for all. Like earlier on in their fight, Naruto seeing the chidori had him reflexively create a rasengan. Again they charged, their techniques meeting head on. But unlike before, this chidori was super-powered using the tainted chakra from the curse seal. Likewise, Naruto's rasengan became more potent with the Kyuubi's demonic chakra. The resulting shockwave had much more force than earlier experienced, slamming both boys mercilessly against the cliff side with enough force to kill most people. Thanks to their current enhancements neither boy died, but they both were knocked out, unconscious and vulnerable on the cold hard ground of the river bank.


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: I had this nearly done and sitting on my computer for two months. I have no excuse for why it's so late; all I can say is sorry.

* * *

Naruto and Harry sat crossed-legged within the dream scape, meditating and working on building mental defenses. Once Harry had come across the reference of Legilimency and Occlumency two weeks ago, he had immediately seen the worth of learning it; once mastered one would be able to know an enemy's thoughts and therefore their actions and plans even before they were put in motion. And with a strong enough mental shield, genjutsu might be all but useless against them.

Unfortunately progress was slow going, which wasn't all that surprising considering that it was a fairly new project for them and the fact that Harry has only been able to find vague references about those mind arts and no clear instructions. The green-eyed boy had resolved to visit Dumbledore within the next few days about it, figuring that the man considered as the strongest and most knowledgeable wizard of the age might know more about such an obscure branch of magic.

"Argh!" Naruto's frustrated exclamation broke through the silence. Harry quit trying to meditate and opened his eyes to watch his younger brother pace angrily back and forth. "

"This is a waste of time!" the blond exclaimed angrily. "We should be working on other things now; we can figure out this ligmincy-thingie out later."

"Well, what do you want to work on then?" Harry asked, trying to hold back any impatience from his voice.

Naruto opened his mouth to reply in a no doubt loud extravagant fashion, but then he seemed to think better of it and changed his tune. "Never mind; you're right. We should work on this. Besides, Kaka-sensei had said how the sharingan had the power to predict an opponent's moves, so if I could do it too with the legi-thingie than I have a better chance at bringing the teme back!"

Harry bit back the retort dying to come out of his mouth; the blond never appreciated it when Harry would talk badly of his teammates (even when they turned traitor). Instead the dark-haired boy copied his younger brother and settled down to try 'clearing his mind' again.

While it was usually rare that either boy would censor their words while in the dream scape, it has become not only common but necessary in the week since Sasuke's defection. The atmosphere between the two brothers have never been so tense and volatile since Naruto shared his tale of Sasuke's defection, and more importantly the blonde's intentions to save his teammate from himself, thereby keeping the promise he made to Sakura to bring the young Uchiha back to the village. But to the blue-eyed boy's shock Harry wasn't his usual supportive self. Harry thought that Naruto should wash his hands of the Uchiha; Sasuke made his own choice, and he should have to live with the consequences. The fact that the Uchiha nearly killed Naruto before leaving didn't help the blonde's attempts at changing the green-eyed boy's mind about Sasuke either.

The first few days after Sasuke's desertion were the worst; Naruto was depressed about his friend's betrayal, worried over Neji's and Chouji's conditions whom both got fatally injured during the Sasuke retrieval mission (though now they are in stable condition, it had been a close thing), and angry at Sasuke's actions. Likewise Harry had been frustrated that he was a world away and therefore unable to take care of Naruto like he wanted to after such an event, angry on Naruto's behalf of Sasuke's actions, and stressed over the events in his own world. Both were running on high emotions and short nerves resulting in the most explosive and long-lasting arguments the two have ever been part of. And they have yet to come to a resolution; they couldn't even agree to disagree, stubborn that their opinion was the right one and needing the other to see and understand their side.

They had never had such a heated argument, or one that lasted so long. Though both hated it and wished to back to their usual camaraderie, neither was willing to back down. And until one did, they knew that it would remain uncomfortably tense within the dream scape.

* * *

Harry walked deep within the forbidden forest, angry and concerned about the sudden friction between him and Naruto. Never before had they had such a big fight. For most of their lives they were the others only constant, the one person each of them had to depend on. Any arguments they've had in the past have been relatively minor and easily forgiven and forgotten through some full-out sparring. But this, Harry knew, wouldn't be resolved for some time.

Harry just didn't understand why Naruto would want to put so much effort and risk his life for someone who had willingly turned his back on him and his comrades and for such a selfish reason – to seek power for his revenge. Sasuke didn't need to seek power, when from Harry's understanding, Konoha was more than willing to train the Uchiha all he needed. He already had one of the strongest ninjas in the village as a sensei; a sensei that frequently left his two other students on the wayside in order to focus on the Uchiha, and the rest of the village adored him. It wasn't like Konoha was incapable of training him; hell, Orochimaru (who he ran to for power) and Itachi (who he was desperate to match and surpass in power) were both born and trained in Konoha, the place he willingly left.

Besides, you can't help someone who is unwilling to be helped. Even if Naruto had managed (or will manage) to drag the Uchiha back to Konoha, the broody ninja will doubtlessly just run off again. And then what? Will Naruto just waste his life chasing after a self-centered brat who is too involved in his own troubles that everyone else isn't even worth so much as a minor thought of concern? What about the blonde's training, his ambitions and his dream to be Hokage; will all that be put on the wayside as he chases after someone not worth saving?

To be honest, Harry was glad that the Uchiha was gone. Sasuke had disregarded the fact that his friends risked life and limb to return him and he almost killed his teammate for his efforts; that's hardly the type of person you'd want or trust to watch your back in a fight, so even if he did return Harry hoped Sasuke and Naruto wouldn't stay teammates. But Naruto didn't see it that way and was stubbornly declaring his intentions to save his former teammate from himself.

'Well,' Harry thought as he slowly began making his way back to the school grounds, 'maybe tonight Naruto will finally begin to listen to reason.'

If Naruto was allowed to try and save the brat from himself by bringing him back to Konoha, than Harry couldn't see why he wasn't allowed to try and save Naruto from himself by trying to make the blond cut all ties to the Uchiha.

But Harry's musings were cut short as reflex forced him to duck and roll. It was a good thing too, since Harry could see the jet of purple light that had just missed him from the corner of his eye impact against the ground where he had been walking. He quickly fired off his own hex before taking cover behind a large tree.

"Ooooh!" a woman squealed. "Baby Potter wants to play!"

Harry took a quick peek around the massive trunk to try and figure out what he was up against. He was able to spot a woman in black robes which had seen better days. The woman, who he recognized from the newspaper, as Bellatrix Lestrange, rolled up a sleeved to touch her wand to a tattoo-like mark on her arm of a skull with a snake. Not long afterward a series of pops announced the arrival and several other cloaked figures. Harry guessed that the others were death eaters as well. Harry quickly ducked behind the tree again, but not before most of the death eaters caught a glimpse of him.

"Bella!" one of them hissed angrily. "What are you doing?! We weren't supposed to let anyone know of our presence while looking for weak spots in the wards! Because of your stupidity we'll have to kill the kid, and when Dumbledore notices a student missing, he might find out about the Dark Lord's plan!"

"But it's not just any student that stumbled across us," Bellatrix sing-songed, sounding every much as insane as the papers accused her of being. "It's ickle baby Potter! If we can catch him now he would make such a nice present for our Lord!"

Harry didn't stick around to hear the rest of the conversation. Making good use of his training, he high-tailed it out of there. Unfortunately his decision to walk in the forbidden forest meant that he was outside the Hogwarts wards, which allowed the pursuing death eaters to apparate around him, cutting him off from his retreat as well as surrounding him. But the secret shinobi didn't let that deter him. With barely any effort Harry channeled some power into his legs and leaped up onto the trees to run overhead.

"What the -?!" One death eater exclaimed as Harry blurred past.

Fortunately for them they recovered fairly quickly and started firing spells. Harry tried to remain among the trees, but they didn't provide as much shelter as he would have liked and areas of dense branches would slow him down. Also the death eaters, realizing that apparition was the only way to keep up to their target, had started to appear on branches as well forcing Harry to constantly be on guard and to frequently change his path.

From there it became a macabre game of laser tag, as Harry dodged and ran among the trees and along the forest floor while the death eaters would pop in and out of his path and try to take him down. Spells and jutsus were fired and exchanged even while Harry raced to the school. Already the green-eyed boy knew that at least one of his pursuers were dead since he used the kawarimi jutsu to switch places with one of the death eaters when a telling bright green curse was fired his way. He strongly suspected that another was as well, or at the very least critically injured, from friendly fire and good timing on Harry's part. The four remaining pursuers had become extra careful about the spells they were using ever since.

Finally, through a gap in the trees Harry caught sight of the Hogwart's grounds. There were pros and cons to reaching it; on the one hand the Death Eaters would no longer be able to apparate and Harry was much, much faster. They might also give up the chase rather than enter Dumbledore's domain. On the other hand there was precious little cover on the grounds and he'd be an open target, and if there are any students around they might get hurt or killed in the crossfire.

He would just have to chance it – who knew if more Death Eaters were on their way and Harry didn't want to risk getting lost and stranded in the Forbidden Forest while losing his pursuers.

Harry broke through the trees with an extra burst of speed, ignoring his aching muscles and protesting lungs – he wasn't used to used to using this much chakra for this long to increase his speed. But all that was irrelevant when running for your life.

Harry swore under his breath as a purple stream of light grazed his cheek; the open Hogwarts' grounds were hardly the best place for dodging unfriendly fire. Sure, there were some trees and boulders but for the most part it was empty of obstacles. He barely covered a hundred meters within the Hogwarts' grounds and the Death Eaters almost got him; he didn't like his chances of making it all the way to the castle unscathed. The young wizard had hoped his pursuers wouldn't risk entering Dumbledore's domain even to capture the Boy-Who-Lived, but that hope was quickly shot down. At least they were on the other side of the castle from the quidditch pitch, which meant that no students were caught in the cross-fire (being the beginning of March, it was too cold and wet for people to be lounging by the lake). But at the same time that meant Harry had no source of help and was forced to continue his sprint to the castle.

But a hurriedly limping figure in the ever decreasing distance caused the green-eyed boy's hopes to soar once more – Mad Eye Moody was on his way. Harry ignored the ex-auror's surprise as Harry finally reached his professor and yanked him behind a tree as the Death Eaters spells hit where they had been standing not a moment before.

"Death *huff* Eaters, *gasp* forest,..." Harry tried panting out an explanation as his desperate lungs forced him to take in as much oxygen as possible.

"Crouch! Hurry up and stun the boy; we'll have to move quickly to avoid Dumbledore!" one of the Death Eaters yelled, running forward and apparently not feeling threatened by the legendary ex-auror.

Moody growled in response. "You're all damn lucky that my cover has already been blown or I'd have killed you myself for saying that where someone could hear you!"

Harry tried to wrap his head around the implications of that little interaction. "Wha-?"

Moody's stunning spell hit Harry with all the finesse of a bag full of bricks; and worked just as well in causing Harry to fall unconscious.

* * *

Sakura sighed as she watched her teammate stare moodily into the fire. It was still odd to see such a pensive expression on the usually hyperactive blond, but unfortunately it hasn't been out of place since their third teammate's defection. Not that she blamed him – Sasuke's betrayal had hit them all hard and even now, less than a week later, they weren't sure of the full repercussions from his decision. Which was why they were on this mission with Jiraiya-sama; Naruto and Sakura wanted another chance to bring their teammate back, and the toad sannin had to find out whether the Uchiha reached Orochimaru in time to be used as his newest host body.

Knowing that she should try to cheer him up, the pink-haired ninja settled next to her teammate.

"We'll find him; I just know it." Sakura said assuredly, hoping her own confidence would rub off on the blond the way that his confidence always rubbed off on those around him.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, startled at his teammate's sudden appearance. "Yeah, of course we will! And then we'll drag his sorry butt back home!" the blonde concluded with a smile. "This time we have Pervy-sage with us, so there's no way we'll fail!"

"Mm-hmm!" the pink-haired girl agreed. She took a quick look around at their campsite. "Where is Jiraiya-sama anyway?"

The two continued talking for a while, until Sakura left to go to set up her tent, confident that she had cheered up her teammate. Unknown to Sakura however, her attempt to cheer Naruto up only made the blond feel a twinge of guilt – it wasn't Sasuke that Naruto was focused on at the moment. For the source of the blonde's troubles was more complicated than the worry that they wouldn't be able to find Sasuke and thus bring him back.

The blond knew he should be focused on getting Sasuke back – especially now that they were within Rice Field Country on a mission to find the Hidden Sound village – but the truth was that Naruto's uncharacteristic pensive mood wasn't because of Sasuke, but because of Harry. Well, sort of. In truth, it was about the ongoing argument between Harry and Naruto about Sasuke.

They were no closer than they had been the day Sasuke turned traitor to seeing eye to eye on the matter. Though it almost physically hurt not to have Harry's support in this, the blond was as stubborn as ever and refused to take back his promise to Sakura and give up on his teammate, and secondary brother-figure.

And if the blond was entirely honest with himself, he couldn't blame the scarred boy for his reaction. But that didn't mean he agreed with him. The dark-haired boy didn't know Uchiha Sasuke like Naruto did. And the fact that Naruto had made a habit of complaining about the unfairness of Kakashi spending more time with Sasuke, of Sasuke demeaning him and thinking himself superior, of all the girls and villagers loving Sasuke while the last Uchiha scorned them,....well, Harry's mental image of the boy was hardly positive even before he decided to betray the village.

But just because the Uchiha had on occasion pissed Naruto off to the extent that the blonde would want to murder him (or at the very least beat him until that smug smirk was permanently wiped from his face), they had still been close. True, they aren't, weren't, nearly as close as Harry and Naruto, but Sasuke is, was, actually physically there and was his first real friend and equal from his own world (Iruka and the Third don't count since they were adults and not really peers). It's also true that Naruto complained about Sasuke all the time, but that doesn't change the fact that they spent most of their time together training and doing missions; and no matter who you were, you can't help but form some sort of bond with those you spend so much time with – especially when you made it a habit to watch each other's backs in life or death situations.

But to explain that type of bond and to have the explanation understood is quite hard. Maybe if it was one of the Weasleys they'd understand since all the siblings love and trust each other even if they sometimes can't stand to spend more than five minutes together (i.e. the twins and Percy). But for Naruto and Harry who have never really known what having a family is like besides having each other – someone who wasn't even from their own world – well, Naruto didn't know how to explain the bond between him and Sasuke and Harry probably wouldn't understand anyway. And Naruto was one-hundred percent certain that the bond went both ways; he had been unconscious and vulnerable after their fight and Sasuke could have easily killed him. But he didn't.

But regardless of his brother-figure's disapproval, Naruto was nothing but stubborn and driven when he decided on something. He had said he would bring Sasuke back and save the Uchiha from himself, and by all that was holy he would do it! And the blonde was sure that once they returned Sasuke, they could convince him that it would be best to stay. After all, if Sasuke was after Itachi, and Itachi was after Naruto, doesn't it make sense for Sasuke to stay with Naruto?

Eventually, Harry would come around and see that Naruto was in the right.

* * *

Harry slowly came to awareness. He felt like crap; his head was throbbing painfully, he felt very groggy and his mouth was cottony. As he wasn't in the mood to move yet, Harry kept his eyes closed and lay still, hoping the world would seem more inviting after a few minutes.

But Harry's attempt at unconsciousness was shattered as an ear-piercing scream rent the air.

"You were ordered to stay at Dumbledore's side," a menacing voice hissed out once the screaming stopped, giving way to gasping breaths. "And yet here you are, cover blown miles away from the school! Crucio!"

As the screams started up again, Harry forced his heavy eyelids to open. He was tied tightly on the floor of a large stone room. Ignoring his aching muscles, the dark-haired boy wiggled around to get a better view of the room. The source of the noise was a young sandy-blonde haired man who was writhing and screaming under the influence of a spell cast by a dark-haired good-looking wizard. Besides the tortured man and the good-looking wizard, there were at least another 20 or so people, all cloaked and masked; Harry assumed that they were Death Eaters. And considering the pain in his scar when looking at the unmasked handsome wizard – and said wizard's distinctly evil-looking red eyes –, Harry assumed he was Voldemort (though Voldemort wasn't what he would have pictured as a Dark Lord, but there you go).

"Forgive me Master!" the sandy-haired man begged, still shaking and crying from the previous curse. "Though I tried to do your bidding, I was already under suspicion by the traitor Snape – he caught me stealing the ingredients for polyjuice potion from him. Though I tried to give the excuse of looking for incriminating evidence against a Death Eater and dark wizard, the traitor did not believe me and was able to steal Moody's flask and see that I wasn't the true Moody. I was forced to escape, though I did manage to injure the traitor and capture Potter for you before I left."

Voldemort relaxed his wand a bit to the relief of his tortured servant. "That is true..."

The Dark Lord – and the other watching Death Eaters for that matter – seemed to get some sort of sick amusement from the man's suffering and how he involuntarily tensed each time the polished length of the yew wand pointed in his direction, even though he wasn't cursed again. Voldemort seemed to get bored of it fairly quickly. "While it is unfortunate that you have failed in your mission and that I no longer know what the old man is up to, Potter does make for a nice compensation."

Harry felt his stomach plummet as the Voldemort now turned his ruby eyes on him.

"It seems as though our young guest is awake."

The Death Eaters all perked up and turned, sensing the direction the night was heading and anticipating it like hounds on the scent of fresh blood.

"Welcome Harry Potter," Voldemort said with a cruel smile.

Harry refused to show his discomfort at his position and just glared defiantly back at the Dark Lord. For his defiance Voldemort casually flicked his wand.

"Crucio."

Harry knew nothing but pain. If he were able to think, he would have understood why Fake-Moody had screamed so hard just a few moments ago and maybe have even felt a tinge of sympathy. As it was, Harry couldn't tell up from down and was deaf to his own piercing screams and blind to the eagerly watching Death Easters as his world was consumed with pain. Finally the curse was lifted and Harry slumped from exhaustion in his bindings.

"Long have I waited for this moment," the Dark Lord said, stalking around his heavily panting prey with barely suppressed enthusiasm. "The boy who the world believes is my downfall, defenseless and at my mercy! The wizarding world's savior, the Boy-Who-Lived...." he continued in a mocking sneer.

"As if a mere boy could defeat me! An untrained half-blood, unworthy of the magic he is gifted with. No matter…I will prove that I speak the truth when I will kill Harry Potter tonight!"

Loud cheers went up among the Death Eaters at that declaration, but the Dark Lord silenced them with a simple hand gesture.

"Wormtail! Release the boy and give him back his wand!"

After a minute or so Harry found himself on trembling legs surrounded by Death Eaters, clenching his wand in a death grip as he glared at Voldemort with all his might. This was beyond bad; he wasn't far enough in either his magical or ninja training to be a large threat and his only advantages (his speed, strength and jutsus) were severely curtailed from the limited space and number of enemies surrounding him. But just because his chance of survival was anything but ideal didn't mean that Harry wasn't going to go down fighting.

"And now Harry Potter, we bow–"

But Harry was already gone before the Dark Lord was able to finish his sentence. Pumping magic to his limbs to increase his strength and speed, Harry darted to the side to steal a dagger he noticed on the belt of a Death Eater. He quickly plunged the dagger into the Death Eater's lung before anyone could react or before he could think of what he was doing; it would be his first kill but probably not his last before the night was through. Harry dashed to the door, but was unsurprised to find it sealed shut. He wasn't able to try opening them for very long as his kidnappers started sending spells and curses his way.

Harry ducked and weaved through the room, attacking when he could and using the walls and ceilings to create space and retreat from his attackers. This was worst than his ordeal in the forbidden forest; less room, no cover, more enemies and nowhere to run to. And while this time he had a weapon he could use for lethal goals (since the spells and justus he knew were more for defeating an enemy rather than killing them), the dagger wasn't even that good being ill-balanced and gaudy more for decorative purposes. And it pissed Harry off that he had weapons – good goblin forged weapons – on his person but was unable to get to them in their shrunk and packed state in the midst of battle. He channeled that annoyance into his aggression while fighting.

"Avada Kadavra!"

Harry just had enough time to shoot his own spell in reflex before both beams of light hit each other mid-air. But instead of ricocheting or one spell overwhelming the other as he had seen happen before, the two spells merged and became one single gold light joining the two opposing wands together. Harry tried to yank his wand away from the mysterious connection but was unable to, and then he tried to let go of his wand; as much as he didn't want to release one of his only weapons he couldn't afford to be kept in place as an easy target. Unfortunately his hand seemed glued to his wand and he was forced to stand there like a sitting duck. But help arrived from an unlikely source.

"Stop! Do nothing! It will be I who kills Potter; no one else!" Voldemort commanded from his place on the other side of the strange golden connection. The Death Eaters were clearly unhappy with the command – nearly all of them had been hexed or slashed by the young teenager and four of their own had been killed, or at least mortally wounded – but they complied.

Meanwhile the strange connection between Harry's and Voldemort's wands changed. Instead of being one solid strand of gold light, it seemed to become of thick band of several smaller entwining strands. Their wands were vibrating and heating up with greater intensity as time passed and if his hand wasn't stuck to his wand he'd have been forced to drop it with the strength of the shaking. The golden strands between the brother wands fractured and shot out, spreading around the room and crisscrossing with each other until it created a golden dome encompassing Harry, Voldemort and all the Death Eaters. Phoenix song filled the air as Voldemort and the Death Eaters looked around in confusion and worry. Harry however was more concerned with the familiar tugging sensation in his gut which was getting progressively stronger.

Less than two minutes later there was a sudden burst of blinding light. When the light faded, the previously crowded room was empty of any golden domes, Death Eaters, Dark Lords or Boys-Who-Lived.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: From now on the story will take place in the Naruto world, so assume they are speaking Japanese. English will be in italics (unless dealing with only english characters; i.e. Voldemort and Death Eaters. Then you can assume that they are speaking english to each other without italics).

* * *

Neji ignored his sensei and teammate with practiced ease; he may care for them and even respect them, but they were still unbearably loud and enthusiastic. Yes, they once again successfully accomplished their mission, and yes they were well within Fire Country and therefore had little chance of being attacked, but that was no reason to partake in ridiculous challenges and announce their presence to the whole world via shouting and hugging.

Once again the young Hyuuga prodigy thanked Kami that he had at least one sane teammate in the form of Tenten.

But his musings were interrupted by a sudden blast of chakra so strong he didn't even need to activate his byakugan to see it. His teammates were likewise affected and they all clung desperately to the branches they stopped on to avoid being flung off from the powerful aftershock. With barely a shared look of acknowledgment all four members of team Gai were racing to the source of the chakra; whatever it was they couldn't let it go unchecked in the midst of Fire Country.

Neji quickly activated his bloodline limit to catch sight of the source of chakra. It took nearly half an hour of fast traveling before anything besides trees and wildlife were in range of Neji's eyes.

"What do you see?" Tenten asked as they all obediently stopped at the Hyuuga's signal.

"19 men, 3 women and a boy roughly our age…" Neji answered, frowning as he tried to puzzle out what was happening. "I believe the boy is a ninja, but I don't see any sign as to what village he is associated with. And the adults; they don't move like ninjas, but they aren't civilians. They are using some sort of jutsu I've never seen before."

"What else do you see my adorable student?" Gai asked. "We need all the details you can give us in order to act youthfully."

"There's no caravan or supplies of any sort; I don't know how or why they are here. The adults are wearing black cloaks and white masks designed like skulls, except for one man who only has a cloak but no mask. The boy is wearing civilian clothing and seems to be trying to get away, rather successfully too. The adults seem reliant on a chakra laden-weapon they are using to create their techniques. The boy has many small chakra-laden items on him but is only using the same stick-like weapon and a decorative dagger. Wait...all but two of the adults have given up the chase and mare gathering together. There are 7 deceased adult bodies with the main group of adults, which means that at the very least one side was using lethal force; but if it was the boy was responsible or the adults were hit by friendly fire I do not know. And now the boy and his remaining two pursuers are out of my range."

"What do we do Gai-sensei?" Lee asked his mentor.

Gai was thoughtful for a minute before turning back to Neji. "Are you sure that the boy is on his own?"

"Besides the two remaining pursuers - yes."

"Then let's head for the boy. It would be too dangerous to attack the large group of adults with so little information and at such a disadvantage in numbers. Our goal will be to capture both the boy and as many of his pursuers as possible to take back to the village. Since their abilities are unknown I will be the only one to make contact. Neji; stay back within range of your byakugan and observe – only interfere if necessary. Tenten; provide back-up but stay concealed within the trees and remember only aim for capture, not to kill. Lee; stay with Neji. Now let's go and burn brightly for Konoha!"

* * *

Sakura walked determinedly towards the Hokage tower. Ever since the Wave country mission she had been aware at how fast the boys in her team were improving compared to her and with each subsequent mission the pink haired girl was left feeling ever more useless, both as a teammate and as a ninja. But after the chunnin exams and especially since Sasuke's betrayal – where she once again did nothing as Naruto and some other friends nearly died in their efforts to retrieve the Uchiha – Sakura vowed to herself that she would never be left behind again. That was why she had been so adamant to go with Jiraiya-sama and Naruto on the latest mission to Rice Country and be a proper teammate to both Naruto and Sasuke in her efforts to retrieve her crush.

Unfortunately, despite her best efforts, the young kunoichi once again found herself wanting in terms of skills and usefulness during the mission. Once again she was left feeling like a burden while Naruto was forced again to rescue her. No matter how she vowed that things would change, how hard she would train, she was still left behind!

Well no more! She realized now that she had been going about getting stronger incorrectly; before the wave mission she hadn't really cared all that much to be a ninja and before the chunnin exam she hadn't cared all that much to train. Afterward she had foolishly thought that just being more determined and confidant in her chosen profession and training on her own would be enough to close the gap between her and her teammates, but now she realized that she needed a teacher. And as much as she liked Kakashi-sensei...well he wasn't the greatest teacher (not that she had really tried to learn before) and besides even if he weren't ridiculously busy right now and always away on missions, his specialty was ninjutsu. Sakura herself was more suited to genjutsu or medical jutsu.

This is why the young girl was going to the Hokage tower – to ask for an apprenticeship. The fifth Hokage was not only a legendary sannin, renown for her battle skills, but was the best medic in the whole world. Just look at what she had been able to do with Lee; his arm and leg had been crushed to the point where most wouldn't think he would not have regained feeling let alone mobility, and yet with Tsunade-sama's skills he would was already a full-fledged ninja again!

Sakura knew realistically that she had next to no chance in actually being taken in; it was the Hokage after all and the pink haired girl doubted that Tsunade-sama would have the time to teach _any _apprentice (besides Shizune-san who had already been learning from Tsunade-sama for over a decade), let alone a mere genin with no experience in healing. But according to Kakashi-sensei her chakra control was unparalleled, and she had a good brain with a nearly photographic memory which would allow her to quickly learn and memorize anything she would need to know. And knowing of the Fifth's personal relationship with Naruto, surely Tsunade-sama would want his teammate to be as good of a medic-nin as possible in order to help her younger brother-figure in missions?

'Of course she does!' Sakura reassured herself. She would get this apprenticeship even if she had to camp outside the Hokage's office until the Fifth gave in! Besides, with her other two teammates being taught by a sannin, surely she was meant to learn from one as well.

"Ohayo Sakura-chan!"

The determined kunoichi was shaken from her thoughts as her hyper blond teammate materialized in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked. "Are you checking to see if we have any missions?"

Sakura gave an inner sigh. It wasn't like she didn't like her teammate, but he could be a bit much to deal with in large doses, and the pink-haired girl really wanted to see the Hokage before she lost her nerve and started second-guessing herself.

"I wanted to see Hokage-sama about a personal issue." Sakura replied, knowing there would be no ignoring Naruto if she wanted to talk to Tsunade some time that day. Once the blond was interested in something he was worse than a dog with a bone.

"That sucks; you won't be able to see her at all today." Naruto replied. "But you could probably make an appointment for later with Shizune-nee-chan."

"W-what?!" Sakura exclaimed. How could Tsunade-sama be unavailable?! She needed to talk with her. "Do you know when she'll be available?"

Naruto's looked up thoughtfully. "I don't know; whatever is happening it's pretty hush-hush. Besides helping us out yesterday when Mizuki and those other inmates escaped, she hasn't been available since we got back."

Sakura remembered back to a few days ago when they had returned from the Rice Country mission; the Hokage hadn't even been there to accept their report, having Shizune-san take care of it instead. She was going to reply, but the pink-haired girl instead did a double take on her teammate.

The blond's eyes were dimmed in sadness with dark bags underneath and his smile seemed a tad forced.

"Naruto; are you okay?" Sakura asked in concern.

The blond looked down, as if hiding his expression before looking up with a bright smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Of course I am Sakura-chan! Why wouldn't I be?"

Sakura frowned in thought. "Is it because we didn't get to see Sasuke in our last mission? Don't worry Naruto; we'll bring him back one day."

Naruto just shrugged in reply and gave another half-hearted smile. Sakura was at a loss as to what could affect the blond so much that didn't have to do with Sasuke and didn't know a tactful way of showing her concern. With a sigh the pink-haired ninja decided to change the subject – for now.

"I guess I'll make an appointment then; hopefully Hokage-sama will be available tomorrow."

"Even if she was, you wouldn't be able to see her right away." Naruto interjected, happy that his teammate dropped the earlier topic; he definitely didn't know how to explain the fact that he'd been having dreams of a brother-figure his whole life which suddenly stopped a few days ago, and now he was worried sick as to what has become of Harry. "We've been assigned a mission with Shikamaru as the squad leader; we have to find some missing ferret for a caravan. Don't worry; I doubt the ferret will give us half as much trouble as that stupid demon-cat the Daimyo's wife always lost did. So you'll be done and able to visit baa-chan by lunch!"

Sakura forced herself to calm down, knowing that Naruto was right. It would do no good to get angry over something she couldn't change. Sakura thanked her teammate for the information and politely excused herself so she could get ready for tomorrow's mission. There was no need to worry; these delays were only postponing her request by a few days at most.

'It's not like Tsunade-sama will choose another apprentice in the short time that I'm away.' Sakura assured herself with a smile.

* * *

Harry sat chained in the cold hard metal chair in silence. He had always known that the ninja in Naruto's world acted like their country's power and thus Konoha was a military village, but he didn't think it had ever really sunk in until now.

He and Naruto had hypothesized what would happen if/when they found themselves in the other's world, but those fantasies had always been in the assumption that they would arrive where the other was and that they would be accepted into the other's world easily. Obviously they were wrong. Harry didn't know if it was because of the added 'weight' from bringing Voldemort and his Death Eaters, or maybe Naruto was out on a mission and Harry was brought half way between Naruto and his home, or it was just random where he would end up, but all Harry knew was that Naruto was nowhere near where he had arrived.

It wasn't all bad though; with the sudden change in environment Harry found it infinitely easier to escape Voldemort and his Death Eaters, especially since he was the only one with any idea as to how they got transported to a giant forest and he had experience running and fighting in such an environment (from his numerous training sessions in the Forbidden Forest). And luckily the ones who had first found him were Konoha ninja that he recognized from Naruto's descriptions.

Team Gai had arrived just when Harry had lost all but two of his many pursuers, and with their help soon Amycus Carrow was dead and stored in a storage seal by the girl – Tenten if Harry remembered correctly – while his sister Alecto was taken prisoner with him by team Gai. Not that Harry minded; they were taking him to Konoha (which was where he wanted to go anyway) and they were kind to him since Harry had saved Gai's life by pushing him out of the way of the killing curse (which had coincidentally gone on to hit Amycus who had been behind Konoha's Green Beast). In fact, Harry hadn't felt like a prisoner at all in his journey to Konoha since team Gai hadn't felt the need to tie him up like with Alecto and had treated him like a friend until they had reached the village. There he had been led away and his situation had changed dramatically. He had been strip-searched of all his possessions, locked in an interrogation/prison cell with only the essentials (i.e. a cot and toilet with meals delivered to him) and questioned practically non-stop as to his origins and future plans. Obviously Harry wasn't able to tell the truth and had made something up about coming from a small country far away which had been taken over by the tyrannical people chasing him. Harry knew that his interrogator didn't believe him, especially since Harry couldn't give a logical reason as to how they ended up Fire Country or a specific location for his supposed country of origin.

The green-eyed boy didn't really know how he was going to get out of this mess he found himself in; especially since he couldn't contact Naruto through the dream scape which had disappeared the night Harry had crossed worlds. In a word, Harry was screwed. He couldn't tell the truth; not only would they not believe him, but Harry only really knew and trusted Naruto and though he had heard of other shinobi through his brother, that didn't mean he felt comfortable enough to divulge his secrets and life story to virtual strangers. He couldn't lie; not that he didn't try, but he knew these trained ninja didn't fall for his lies for one second. All he could do was sit here and hope that somehow things would work out for him.

* * *

Tsunade and Ibiki looked through the one-way glass at their puzzling prisoner.

"So what do you think?" the Hokage asked the head of the Konoha Torture and Interrogation unit.

"He's interesting." The scarred man replied. "He's most definitely trained; Gai wouldn't lie in his report and the boy isn't nearly as intimidated by his interrogation as a civilian would be. But on the other hand he isn't from a ninja clan, nor would I rank him any higher than a genin; for all that he tries to, he is unable to hide his emotions and it's easy to tell when he lies. I don't believe he's from a hidden village either; if anything his dialect seems native to Konoha, so it's possible that one of his parents were a Leaf ninja who had either retired or labeled MIA."

Tsunade 'hmmed' in agreement. "Team Gai doesn't think he is a threat to Konoha."

Both the Hokage and the head of T&I would have believed in team Gai's assessment even if they hadn't done their own interrogation afterward; though primarily a combat specialist team, they are quite good at information gathering. Gai and Lee put targets at ease with their antics, Tenten seamlessly fills the role of friend and confidante, and Neji observes facial cues and body language in the distance with his byakugan. It's one of the reasons they have such an amazing success rate as a team since they usually know all the details of a mission (even ones the customer didn't want them to know) soon after they accepted the mission in the Hokage tower; therefore no hidden surprises like team Kakashi experienced in their Wave country mission.

"He was quite forthcoming about certain information," Ibiki conceded, "and I think he was telling the truth when he admitted to wanting to be a Konoha shinobi. But he's still not being completely honest, and until I know what he's hiding the thought of releasing him makes me uneasy."

"But if we do grant him citizenship and keep a close eye on him, it could be worth it." Tsunade replied. "He's the only one who could translate what our other prisoner is saying, and it could give us an advantage if we learn those techniques Gai's team reported seeing."

Ibiki grunted in agreement. "Either way we can't keep him here much longer without Danzo trying to take over this investigation."

Unsaid was the fact that once Danzo took control not only would this Potter Harry kid and the other foreigner be tortured for every drop of information they possessed, but they would disappear off the face of the earth either to be buried anonymously in the Forest of Death somewhere or reprogrammed to be an emotionless ROOT operative. Kami knows how the old war hawk found out about the kid in the first place since Tsunade had tried her best to keep the situation under wraps with only a handful of trusted ninja knowing anything - and of those handful of people Ibiki was the only one Tsunade had allowed to interact with the prisoner. But there was no doubt that Danzo did know something of what was going on, even if he didn't know the particulars; after all, the body of thforeign e male dead adult that team Gai had brought back had "mysteriously" disappeared from a top level security facility soon after Tsunade had finished examining the body.

The Slug Princess was unwilling to let the boy in front of her "disappear" however; the prisoner was only a kid and not a confirmed enemy, so as far as she was concerned there was no need to treat him as one. And even if she didn't have a moral problem against Danzo squirreling the kid away, there was no way she would let the constanct thorn in her side learn and then horde all the techniques the kid would reveal for himself, since Tsunade was way too knowledgeable to believe that Danzo would share power; even in the form of information.

"I think we've asked enough questions for now." Tsunade announced. "I want you to do an evaluation of his abilities; test on as many skills as possible and feel free to take as long as you want. I don't want any surprises, so you better be thorough. Once you've finished bring him straight to me; we'll decide who would be best to play the role of both guard dog and mentor and make him their ward."

"What of the other prisoner that was brought in with him?" Ibiki asked.

"We'll deal with her later," Tsunade replied. "Concern yourself only with the boy and have some ANBU guard the other one for now."

"As you wish Hokage-sama." Ibiki responded neutrally.

The Hokage walked off as Ibiki got to work. After ordering some underlings to watch over the female, he mentally pushed away thoughts of the other prisoner and any other thoughts that would distract him from his next task of testing the boy. After all, he would never see the other prisoner again – she would unofficially be going to Danzo as a distraction/sacrificial lamb while Tsunade ensured the future of the boy.

It was a situation that Ibiki for one was content with; Danzo wouldn't get his ego bruised and would be satisfied with his power over the Hokage as he "secretly" stole the woman while Tsunade was busy with the boy. And though it would mean losing a prisoner to the war hawk, it wasn't a big loss since Ibiki had already managed to find out all that he could from her; just because the boy hadn't been treated like an enemy while being interrogated didn't mean that the foreign woman had been given the same courtesy. True, no one had been able to understand what she had been saying, but Ibiki had been able to read her tone of voice and body language easily; she meant them harm and could be labeled as an enemy. Through vigorous torture and interrogation Ibiki was certain that the woman didn't know a word of their language, was pretty much useless without her chakra stick, was more than half crazy, and hated him and the boy with a passion. Danzo wouldn't gain anything from her.

* * *

"Can't see Baa-chan my butt..." Naruto mumbled to himself as he made his way through one of the hidden passages in the Hokage tower meant for ANBU to use in guarding the village leader. Thanks to practically growing up in said tower Naruto knew all the ins and outs including the secret passages that most jounin didn't even know of. "I bet she's just sleeping off a hangover, that old hag..."

While Naruto usually – or at least sometimes – respected when Shizune-nee-chan and/or the Hokage secretary said that Baa-chan was busy and therefore Naruto couldn't visit, right now Naruto needed some company. Kakashi-sensei was out on a mission, Sakura was lost somewhere in the library studying medical techniques (she had confided that she wanted to be a medic-nin and was studying as to impress any potential mentors – i.e. Tsunade – when she finally got around to requesting an apprenticeship), team Asuma was on a mission, he wasn't that close to team Kurenai (except maybe Kiba, but Naruto wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now), team Gai was busy training (and again Naruto wasn't really in the mood for their company), and Iruka-sensei and the Konohamaru Corps. were at the academy; so Naruto didn't really have anyone else to talk to. Not that the blond really planned on talking, he just wanted some company/a distraction since it was now eight days and counting since the dream scape had mysteriously disappeared and the orange-clad ninja was beyond worried. He was starting to truly fear that he would never see his older brother again, and being so soon after Sasuke's defection, with their ongoing argument about Sasuke still hanging over their heads, Naruto was about ready to break down in tears. Tsunade was the closest thing Naruto had ever had to a mother-figure and the blond desperately wanted to see her.

As the blond neared the end of the passage he frowned in thought. While the Hokage's office was always soundproof to those outside in the hall or on the other side of the windows, usually you could clearly hear what was happening inside from the secret passages since the ANBU guards needed to know if/when they had to take action. That they were also soundproofed meant that Baa-chan was probably doing her job instead of getting drunk and/or napping and more importantly, that she was dealing with sensitive information. Naruto bit his lower lip, torn. He really _should _leave; he was only a genin after all and if the ANBU guards weren't allowed to be privy to whatever his Baa-chan was dealing with, then no way would he be allowed. But on the other hand Naruto really wanted to spend time with his mother-figure, especially since he hadn't seen her much the past few days what with being busy with missions and her being unavailable. And his curiosity was nagging at him to find out what was going on, and he was here anyway...

'Just a quick peek,' Naruto thought to himself. 'Just to make sure Baa-chan really is working and not using security clearance as a way to make sure no-one could see her passed out at her desk.'

That decided, the blond squared his shoulders and opened the hidden door just a crack; enough to break the soundproofing seal but not enough to see through. Hopefully Tsunade was really passed out, if not she would be alerted to the fact that her office had been breached.

"-orest-"

Almost as soon as Naruto had cracked open the hidden door, the voice had stopped talking and his Baa-chan's familiar killer intent had washed over him. He had known that she would be alerted the moment he opened the hidden door, but he had hoped that she would have been too distracted to notice right away. He inwardly sighed and pushed the door open all the way; if he remained hidden Baa-chan might think he's an enemy spy or something and Naruto refused to die before he became Hokage.

"Sorry, if I came at a bad time baa-chan," Naruto apologized, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment and keeping his eyes on his feet sheepishly.

'Really,' the blond scolded to himself, 'how stupid was it to interrupt the Hokage in what was probably a super important and confidential meeting just because I'm feeling a bit lonely from a few days without Harry?'

"I just wanted to-"

But whatever excuse Naruto was going to use died in his throat as he finally looked up and saw the last person he expected to see standing in front of Tsunade-baa-chan's desk.

"HARRY?!?!"

* * *

A/N: I was going to end it here, but my beta convinced me to keep going. So if you hate cliffhangers you have her to thank.

* * *

"Naruto!" Harry called back, elated at seeing his younger brother for the first time since being brought to this world. His relief was so consuming that he momentarily forgot about the village leader and his interrogator that were in the room watching the exchange curiously.

Naruto started to run forward, intent on giving his much missed older a brother a big hug, but was suddenly stopped in his tracks when a hard yank to the back of his jumpsuit lifted him off in the air.

"Baa-chan!" Naruto yelled angrily, struggling to get out of her super-human grip. "What are you doing? Let go!"

"Quiet brat!" the Hokage ordered, easily holding Naruto so that she was between him and the mysterious boy team Gai found in the forest. "How is it that you know each other?"

"Of course we know each other baa-chan!" Naruto scoffed dismissively. "We're brothers!"

Harry resisted the urge to sigh loudly.

"_And how are you going to explain that to them?_" Harry asked. He knew by speaking in a language that the Hokage couldn't understand was only digging the hole deeper, but they were already busted anyway. "_As far as they know I'm a refugee who was found in the wild of Fire Country._"

"You didn't tell them about the dreams?" Naruto asked, voice filled with innocent confusion. Harry was too stunned to reply; how could Naruto be so insightful sometimes, and yet so dense at other times?

No wonder Harry had severely underestimated how cut-throat Konoha could be; Naruto had only told what he believed and the blond viewed the world, and his village, with rose-tinted glasses. He was one of those rare people who honestly believed the best in people, even when life tried its hardest to prove them wrong.

"Brothers?!" Tsunade asked. "What dreams? I swear, if one of you dosen't start talking you won't like the consequence!"

Neither boy was foolish enough to believe she was bluffing.

Ibiki meanwhile just watched stoically in the background, using a genjutsu to ensure his presence would go largely unnoticed. This was supposed to be a simple meeting where he and the Hokage would inform Potter Harry of his new status as a Konoha citizen and tell him in no uncertain terms what his life would be like for the undetermined future. But then the unexpected happened; the only expected part of which was that the Kyuubi container was involved. The Head of the T&I division had kept an eye out on the kid since the whole Mizuki business, and therefore knew that the kid certainly deserved his title as Konoha's most unpredictable ninja – a title that worked two-fold since not only was the ninja's own actions and thought-process unpredictable, but also the situations the kid found himself in.

The scarred man knew enough about human behavior and the people in front of him to know how he would get the most information. Tsunade-sama, on top of being the village leader charged with the safety of everyone in it, has a close personal relationship with Uzumaki Naruto, and for that reason alone she will drag out every last piece of information about the mysterious foreigner if only to protect the one she sees as a little brother. Ibiki could take over as head of T&I, or could just remind them he is there as an added silent support/intimidation technique, but it frankly wasn't needed – the slug sannin was not somebody to cross. And besides, it was best he stay forgotten in the background; not only would this allow him to silently observe, but his overbearing presence could make the cautious and silent Potter-san feel like a trapped animal prone to lash out defiantly – for now the boy wouldn't do anything since he obviously had a close emotional tie to the blond and therefore wouldn't want to make the situation more volatile. However, it was Naruto that Ibiki most wanted to hide his presence from. Naruto-san was ridiculously open and talkative for a ninja, and obviously cared deeply for both the foreign boy and the Hokage; he would eagerly spill everything he knew without much prompting, if only to get two of his precious people to get along. Ibiki was the only one without a close connection to him, and if the genin became aware of an 'outsider' in his little family gathering, he might clam up, or at the very least censor his answers.

Naruto, still ignorant of Ibiki's presence and his thoughts, looked over to his brother with wide puppy-dog-eyes. With a small sigh and nod which the blond correctly interrupted as permission to tell the whole story, the Kyuubi vessel did just that.

* * *

Tom Marvolo Riddle – or Voldemort as he is more commonly known – sat in a transfigured throne deep in thought. Just a few weeks ago he had been more happy then he had been for 12 years; after more than a decade as a mere specter he regained his body, he regained most of his followers and he was well on his way to restart – and win – the war he had only lost due to a fluke. And though upset when his undercover agent had been discovered, he had at least gotten Potter in the exchange and would be able to deal a fatal blow to the Light's morale.

But thanks to another unforeseen fluke, yet again brought on by the Potter brat, he and his followers were in a foreign land with no way of knowing how they got here or how to get back.

The sudden shift from his hideout to the largest forest he had ever seen (which was saying something, since Voldemort had traveled the world in his quest to gain power) was disorientating enough; that Potter was able to slip through his fingers again was nothing short of unacceptable! Though he and his Death Eaters had given chase, it was soon apparent that Potter had the advantage since he could hide up high in the trees and effortlessly run along, jumping from branch to branch with more speed and grace than a monkey. They could have apparated to keep up, but it was never wise to apparate in an unknown area, since there would be a greater likelihood for splinching. Voldemort quickly called his followers back; there was no use following after the boy and losing more followers in a wild goose chase. Unfortunately the Carrow siblings didn't heed his call – their time spent in Azkaban had probably messed up their ability to think logically – and the Dark Lord hadn't seen them since.

Those two, added to the 7 death eaters that had died earlier in the fight with the Potter boy and Avery who had died in the Forbidden Forest when Bellatrix and Crouch Jr. had kidnapped the boy meant that he had lost 10 death eaters in the span of one day. And that was just unacceptable – especially since the source of his immortality came from his followers.

The famed Dark Mark served many purposes among his death eaters; it branded those that followed him as both a test of their loyalty and their determination (since it was very painful to receive, and also very noticeable and completely permanent), it was a way to summon his followers, and most importantly, it was a way to ensure the Dark Lord's power and immortality (not that his followers actually knew that). The Dark Mark linked the death eater's magical cores to Voldemort, but the dark lord made sure that it was only a one-way connection (which was why Voldemort could summon any and all death eaters to his position, but they were unable to summon the dark lord). With the link in place, Voldemort could easily siphon magic from his followers (never enough to be missed and it wasn't like it wasn't easily regained in time), using their magic to keep his body from aging and ensuring that he was the strongest wizard in the world. The more followers he had (and the stronger the followers), the less magic Voldemort was forced to take from each individual and therefore the easier it was to steal without their notice. It was only thanks to the Dark Mark that Voldemort had stayed tethered to earth with enough magic to sustain him while bodiless from the reflected killing curse which had made Harry Potter famous.

With his power supply (a.k.a. number of death eaters) ever dwindling thanks to Potter and the stupid actions of his followers, Voldemort knew he had to act cautiously. This was not the time to waste time and man-power on a pointless search for Potter, no matter how much he wanted vengeance.

"My Lord, we've returned with some prisoners and supplies."

Voldemort looked up with a smirk; Lucius Malfoy was a treacherous man who wouldn't hesitate to stab you in the back if it meant he profited from it, but he was also the sanest and most cunning follower at his disposal right now, which was why the Dark Lord had him lead for this very important mission.

"Very good Lucius. Get Yaxley and Rookwood to sort through the supplies and bring the prisoners to me."

Despite his Death Eaters poorly disguised hope that he would find a way back to their own world, Voldemort couldn't care less where he was. His only goals in life involved immortality and power – he didn't even care all that much about the pureblood agenda. Sure, he agreed that muggles weren't fit for anything besides serving the clearly more powerful and worthy wizards, but the true reason he adopted that philosophy was to gather the strong and influential followers he needed to succeed in his own goals and using the age-old prejudice of the wizarding world was the easiest way to do it. In fact, Voldemort felt a vindictive sense of pleasure ordering around these proud and egotistic purebloods who would throw fits should they know of his own less than pure blood-status.

These new prisoners would help Voldemort reach his goals, despite the change of scenery. Though his precious familiar was extremely helpful, Nagini was unable to find out much of this new world and thus the Dark Lord had ordered Malfoy to stage an ambush on the next group of people that happened through the large dirt road they had come across and bring them to him. With legilimency, Voldemort would soon know all there was to know about this world and his ambitions would be realized.

* * *

"-but now it doesn't matter, since Harry is here!" Naruto finished with great enthusiasm.

It was only with supreme effort that Tsunade had managed to listen to the whole absurd story without interfering or showing any expression. Alternate realities? Really?!

But, no matter how far-fetched the scenario seemed, Naruto seemed to believe it whole-heartedly. And she couldn't deny the evidence in front of her; when Naruto got to the part in his story of his and the other boy's preparations for dimensional-hopping, not only did the blond reveal the hidden scrolls and pictures sewn into his jumpsuit, but the messy-haired boy had told them (and then had shown them when Tsunade had made her disbelief known quite clearly) that the chakra-laced items found on his person when captured were actually shrunken trunks filled with everything he could think of to bring to this world.

The Hokage slumped into her seat and reached for a cup of sake. Why, oh why did she agree to take on the mantel of Hokage again? The paper-work alone made her want to quit and now she had to deal with an inter-dimensional situation.

"What do you think Ibiki?"

The two boys jumped; they had forgotten (or in Naruto's case, never noticed) that the large man had been in the room the whole time. The man in question released his genjutsu and answered.

"I think they are telling the truth, as farfetched as it sounds."

"That's what I thought," Tsunade muttered, taking another swig of alcohol. She fixed Harry with a penetrating stare. "Originally we brought you here to inform you of your newly-granted citizen-ship. You would have lived in an apartment of my choosing under 24 hour surveillance by the ANBU. In one year if you had proven to be trustworthy and a good citizen you would have been allowed to attend the ninja academy and/or take the genin exam. Again you would have been under heavy surveillance from your jounin instructor who would have doubled as your guardian. After another year or two, if you had once again proven yourself as a Konoha shinobi, you would have been allowed to take the chunnin exams."

"What?!" Naruto yelled out in shocked disbelief. "But he would have been ancient! Why can't he be a shinobi now?"

"15 is hardly ancient, Naruto" Tsunade replied icily. "Have you forgotten that most of those who had taken the chunnin exams were in their mid-to-late teens? But that's beside the point; he's lucky there was even a possibility of becoming a Leaf shinobi in the first place. We were being lenient with him so he would teach our ninjas his native techniques in exchange. But all that is irrelevant anyway due to what you have just revealed to us."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, speaking for both him and his older brother.

"Well first off, Harry taught you his native language and techniques so we no longer have to worry about how to learn them." The slug sannin raised a hand, forestalling the blond boy's protests. "That doesn't mean we'll be harsher on Harry-san since he doesn't have as much leverage. Now that we know of his true background and his loyalty to Konoha we can actually be more lenient than I had planned with him."

Harry didn't know how lucky he was – even those that had married into Konoha were treated with suspicion and distrust at first. It always took a long time for immigrants to lose their ANBU surveillance. But since it was Naruto who was involved, Tsunade was more than willing to show a little faith.

"When Ibiki-san tested you on your capabilities, he noticed that you had a great deal of interest, knowledge, and skill in medical techniques. Originally we were going to ignore it since we didn't trust you near our sick and injured citizens. But now, you will be my apprentice instead."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. He had heard of Tsunade's legendary medical skills through his younger brother, who had told of Lee's miraculous recovery her reputation as the greatest medical ninja the world had ever seen. He had been interested in healing and had enjoyed his lessons with Madame Pomphrey, but he had never thought to become a med-nin; ninja and healing just didn't seem to mix.

"But what about Shizune-nee-chan?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Shizune has been my apprentice for 15 years; there isn't much left for me to teach her if there's anything at all. And besides, for all that she can give the best medics in the world a run for their money, her interests lie elsewhere. She only became my apprentice since we were all the other had left and because she refused to be left behind when I left Konoha." The busty blonde answered.

"I'm honoured that you would take me on," Harry said hesitantly, "but why are you doing it? I would have thought that anyone with a speck of interest in medicine would be begging for you to teach them, so why are you offering to me when I'm a virtual stranger, not even from Konoha?"

"Two reasons," Tsunade replied. "One – you have the talent to be great. Ibiki doesn't lie, nor does he exaggerate. If you're as good as he says you are, then you are worth teaching. Two – Naruto. I love the gaki, and I can tell you do too. This way when I send him out on missions I can be sure that a competent and protective medic will be watching his back and making sure that he returns alive and in one piece."

Harry agreed to the apprenticeship resolutely, wordlessly saying that he would do everything in his power to keep his brother safe. The Hokage acknowledged the unsaid sentiment with a small nod.

"Making you my apprentice will also have some added bonuses," Tsunade explained. "For one, you will be under my direct supervision so I won't have to worry if one of the ANBU that would have been charged with your surveillance was reporting to someone else. I can also keep you secluded in the tower for your lessons until we have a foolproof background for you and until you know it well enough that you won't give anything away when you interact with people. It will also shield you from the council and other outside influences, and you can keep your relationship and history with Naruto a secret since him visiting the Hokage tower is hardly out of place."

"The first thing we should do is decide on the boy's history," Ibiki stated. "Danzo will be finished dealing with the woman soon since she doesn't speak our language and he won't be able to learn more from her body than what he had already learned through the other body team Gai had brought back. It is only a matter of time before he calls for a council meeting to discover the fate of the boy."

"Agreed." Tsunade replied before turning to address Harry. "The best lies are those based in truth; tell us everything you can about yourself, your world and the others brought to our world and we'll work from there."

* * *

A/N: Yay! Harry and Naruto finally met face to face, and it only took 31 chapters!

** Q&A**

**I'm surprised that Naruto wasn't strong enough to stop Sasuke; he's stronger than in canon and he has the added advantage of magic.**

Well, that may be true but plot device says that Naruto wasn't able to win. I did make it a sort of tie however. I never really understood the whole Sasuke leaving theory (I sort of use Harry to convey my thoughts of 'Why?! That makes no sense!') but it is an important plot point of the Naruto world and I felt it is important to keep it – and it has the added benefit of causing issues between Harry and Naruto and yet allowing Naruto and Harry to bond more as brothers without another 'brother' to monopolize Naruto's time. And just like it was important for Sasuke to leave, it was important for Sasuke and Naruto to have their dramatic fight at the valley at the end; so I couldn't have Sasuke just sneak away without confrontation to avoid the stronger!Naruto.

Anyway, back to the original question; if you go back to the fight scene in question you'll notice that Naruto was fighting on two levels; on one side was the usual fight against Sasuke and the other was an inner battle against the Kyuubi's influence – so Naruto wasn't fighting to his full capabilities. At the end of the fight the Kyuubi's influence becomes too much and Naruto becomes lost in feral instinct; which made him stronger and faster physically and instinctually but his logical thinking was gone to the point where he didn't even think of using magic, let alone a jutsu. Unlike in canon, this Naruto has little experience dealing with the Kyuubi's chakra and influence and was overwhelmed. And that is why Naruto didn't win.

**Why write a fanfic and change several important factors to influence the main characters and then still constantly recycle the canon plot? Are you just that lazy? Why make your ninja trained characters so slow? A normal person can evidently dodge spells such as the Avada Kadavra in the books but for example your much faster ninja trained Harry just stands there like a gaping fool waiting for the killing curse... It just does not feel believable. Is it just bad a plot device or what?**

I usually reply to these sort of reviews individually, but lately I've been to busy to reply individually (sorry reviewers - know that I still appreciate them all just the same) and so I'll reply here and address a few issues that are represented from this response.

To all those who wonder why Harry and Naruto aren't more powerful, smarter, or just plain better - this isn't a super!fic. While they can make for an interesting read, I would get bored writing one since it would be too easy for the protagonists. And sometimes what the reviewer wants just doesn't make sense - someone asked me why Harry hadn't solved the Philosopher's Stone mystery back when Harry didn't even have the necessary clues to solve it.

I started this story in the canon universe only changing one variable; Naruto and Harry can communicate through their dreams. Their connection would make small impacts in their personality and abilities, which would slightly change their decisions and actions, which would slightly change the outcome of a canon scenario which would influence the canon world and so on and so on, making bigger changes as time went on. So yes, I do use a lot of canon but it's on purpose; the point of this story wasn't to see how Harry and Naruto react in certain circumstances but how certain circumstances are changed with a slightly different Harry and Naruto. In fact, I strayed from canon far more than I thought I would.

As to their abilities; they are still only 12 and 13 respectively, there's no reason for Naruto to know S-ranked jutsu when he is still a genin or Harry to know how to make a portkey when he isn't even half-way through Hogwarts. Yes, they are better than canon but if you want them to be amazing you will have to let them grow and learn some more.

Secondly, you ask about Harry's apparent inability to dodge the AK and him standing around like an idiot. Just a paragraph or two beforehand I described how Harry was running around almost non-stop along the floor, walls and ceiling dodging and firing spells. But Harry was in an inclosed space with nearly 30 people trying to get him. Even with his ninja speed and agility, there was no way he could avoid everything. So he dodged what he could, but every now and then got grazed with something (thankfully for him non-lethal) and if all else failed he tried to misdirect it - which is why Harry was surprised that his and Voldemort's spells connected rather than ricosheting like what usually happens.

Thirdly, I can understand people who ask what happened to Sirius, or how old Harry/Naruto is; pretty much any details that they have problems remembering since it happened/was mentioned in previous chapters. But I don't understand why some people ask questions that are already answered in the same chapter. E.g., Was I not clear enough that Harry was fighting back last chapter? Should I add more descriptions in fight scenes? I don't want to make the story too dry, but if need to add more details to my story, or I'm not making sense, let me know.

**You know I'm surprised that the amount Harry gained from the ministry was enough for the weapons. If the amount he had in his vault wasn't enough how is the greedy and nny pinching ministry going to come up with the amount? **

Well the first thing you have to remember was that the majority of Harry's money is packed away in case he ended up in Naruto's world, so even though the weapons were ridiculously expensive, a third of it was paid by the remainder in his vault and he had enough in his trunk to pay the other two thirds, but he didn't want to use that money unless there were no other options since it was his emergency money.

As to why the ministry would have had to pay such a large sum; they imprisoned a man to hell on earth for 10 years and nearly had his soul sucked out by the darkest creatures in the world. And this wasn't just any man, this was a pureblood Lord from a very rich and influential family (in a society that fawned over their aristocrats) who was a hero and godfather to the Boy-Who-Lived. And the whole reason they were giving the money was for a publicity ploy, which meant that they would want to seem generous and benevolent.

Now, as to why the ministry actually caved in and gave Harry the promised money:

1) He's Harry Potter. If the ministry had held back on paying him it wouldn't just be front page, but international news since it also dealt with government.  
2) Right after Harry won his lawsuit, evidence of all the shady dealing occuring in and around the ministry were unveiled. Because of that the ministry got a lot of extra cash from fining those who had been lining their own pockets, blackmailing or whatever other crimes they had commited that were now public knowledge.  
3) Again, thanks to the evidence of shady dealings Fudge and most of the department heads were fired bringing in a new (and thankfully for Harry and the public at large for that matter) and just government. Wanting to quickly distance themselves from the old administration, the first thing they did after replacing the corrupt employees was to make nice with the national hero and pay him back the amount due.

I realize things wouldn't have gone that smoothly and realistically Harry wouldn't have gotten the money until at least a year later, but I needed Harry to get the money right away, and thankfully as author I have an in with the Powers That Be from the story's reality. :P


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: *Hides in shame* I know, I know, super long wait for this chapter. I don't really have a good excuse; it was just one of those things I kept putting off until later and then somehow a year went by.

Warning: This chapter is un-betaed, mainly since I just wanted to stop procrastinating and just post this chapter finally.

* * *

It was now a month and a half since Harry had arrived in Naruto's world and a little over one month since he had earned the rank of genin and officially became Tsunade-sensei's apprentice. The messy-haired boy was starting to feel at home despite the fact he was more or less locked away in the tower, his only companions being Tsunade-sensei and Shizune-san, though Naruto visited whenever he wasn't away on a mission. Sure, every now and then Harry felt a pang of homesickness and thoughts of his old life crept up unexpectedly. Like when he had been helping Shizune-san sort through the piles of paperwork into organized, manageable piles for Tsunade and the thought that even Hermione would have trouble going through all that paper made him smile sadly. And the other day when he and Tsunade were talking about the anatomical differences she had found between her world and his after studying the male death eater's body and Harry had looked at the clock realizing that at home he would have been in History of Magic right then, playing hangman with Ron.

Whenever Harry found himself missing Hogwarts and those left behind, he would submerge himself in work or thoughts of his younger brother; anything to keep his mind occupied. There was no going back even if he wanted to, and that's all there was to it. For better or for worse this was his new home, and lamenting over what he had left behind would help no one.

But now was hardly the time to think about his old life anyway; he may already know all this information already, but it wouldn't do to have Tsunade's apprentice not paying attention in a program she had spent a lot of time, effort (and money) preparing. So Harry pushed away those thoughts, and like the rest of the genin crammed in the room he paid full attention to his Hokage.

"The life of a ninja is a life full of peril and duty." Tsunade began, speaking to her rapt audience. "Many of the missions you have and will be asked to complete are extremely dangerous with a low rate of survival. To give our ninja a better chance, we put them in teams; that way you'll have comrades to watch your back and even if you aren't proficient in a certain area, one of your teammates may be."

"But even then, the death rate of Leaf shinobi is higher than I'm willing to accept. It is a proven fact that teams with a medic have a higher chance of survival by 23%; unfortunately even with that known there are far too few medics among our ranks either due to lack of interest, skill or teachers. That will change now."

"The academy curriculum has been revamped so all graduates will have a much stronger base in medical techniques than you and it will graduate teams with at least one member on the path to becoming a full-fledged medic-nin. Unfortunately, you guys are already in set cells. Don't worry, I won't split up your teams or stop you from doing missions in order to work at the hospital; but I do demand that at least one person per team learns enough to be a qualified field medic. To help you with this, there will be a workshop once per week that covers basic medical knowledge and techniques; many of these things you should already know, like properly wrapping a wound and natural disinfectants in the wild. Other things will be new to you, but are well worth learning. I am aware that you won't be able to go every week and will often be away on missions, but before the year is out I expect e_ach of you_ to attend at least ten of these seminars. If you want to be qualified as field medics, expect to attend a lot more. For those that show an added interest and aptitude in healing, extra classes or an apprenticeship with an experienced med-nin will be available to you. Again, I won't pull you from your team or expect you to quit your other duties, so it will be a loose apprenticeship, but at the same time be aware that it will take longer to be a qualified med-nin. Each workshop will take place on Saturdays at 3 o'clock, room 103 in the hospital. Are there any questions?"

Tenten raised her hand. "Will you be the one running the workshops Hokage-sama?"

"No," Tsunade replied. "The workshops will be run by medics from the hospital and will be supervised by either my apprentice Shizune, or a senior med-nin from the hospital like Yakushi Kohei or Akamichi Musume. All are accomplished medics in their own right, so don't worry, you'll be in good hands. However, for those who show great aptitude and drive there will be additional workshops for more advanced techniques that I will run every now and then."

A genin Harry didn't recognize was next. "What if no one on our team shows an aptitude for healing?"

"Well, I still expect you all to learn as much as you can, for your teammates' sake if nothing else." Tsunade replied. "And I very much doubt that any given team will be so bad that not even one member can reach the capabilities of a field medic. But if that is the case; well we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"What happens if we don't attend 10 workshops before the year is out?"

"There is no reason that should be the case; your senseis and superiors will be making sure that you each get enough Saturdays off this year. And even then, you are encouraged to ask your superiors and fellow shinobi about what techniques they know; just because we set up somewhere for you to learn medical techniques doesn't meant that should be the only place to learn those things, and as long as you show a solid understanding and skill of basic knowledge and techniques, it's fine if you don't attend 10 seminars by the year's end. But if you did have the opportunity and were just slacking off – beware of a year of D-rank missions with reduced pay."

Many of the genins shuddered in fear at their awaiting fate should they disregard the Hokage's words.

Seeing as no one else had any questions, Tsunade started speaking again.

"Before you go you will be tested on your knowledge and aptitude for healing by myself or one of the medics you see stationed at the tables around the room. This will take a while, so be patient."

The Hokage was right; it did take a while. Even though only a third of the genin were at the meeting (there would be a more gatherings for the rest of genin; if they had called all the village's genin even for just the afternoon many missions would have gone unfulfilled and the country's borders would have gone mostly unpatrolled), and there were over a dozen medics helping out, it still took three hours for all the genin to be tested. Harry, not having to go through with the tests and not yet skilled enough to conduct the tests, was charged with gathering the paperwork, copying it and sorting it, so that Tsunade, the hospital staff, and the genins' senseis/superiors would know what to expect.

Finally his sensei finished with her last genin (Naruto's pink-haired teammate no less) and Harry went to collect the last of the papers. The other medics had long since gone since most of the genins had preferred being tested by _the _Hokage and Slug Sannin Tsunade rather than just some other medic.

"You know, you're lucky that you had arrived when you did." Tsunade said as Sakura left the room.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. After being around Naruto and Tsunade so often, Harry had dropped the formalities around his sensei in private. He wasn't outright disrespectful like his little brother, but he rarely addressed his mentor with her proper titles either.

"I mean that Haruno Sakura has the best chakra control I've ever seen; better than you and probably even better than me. She doesn't have nearly the same power level, but she does have a surprisingly good grasp of the basics and will make one hell of a medic. If you hadn't shown up when you did, she probably would have been my apprentice by now."

"Huh." Harry didn't know much about the girl, but from what he did know she wasn't anything special. He guessed she just hadn't been given the opportunity to show her stuff in a ninjutsu specialized team.

"It would have made an odd sort of sense to take her too;" Tsunade mused. "With Orochimaru teaching the Uchiha and Jiraiya teaching the brat, I almost feel like she was meant to learn from me."

"Well, if she's as good as you say she is, you will get to teach her." Harry replied. "You will be teaching some of the classes for the advanced students. And besides, you barely count as my sensei; with you being busy all the time it's Shizune or self-study for me."

The busty blond let out a short laugh. "True enough I suppose. But then again I picked you as my apprentice more for personal and political reasons than your talent; not that you don't have a great deal of it."

Harry acknowledged the validity in that statement with a nod as he sorted through the papers.

"So, do you want to hear the results now, or wait until the rest of the genin are tested?"

...

Outside the room Sakura took her ear off the door. She felt a great mix of emotions; eagerness to start learning and become a fully-fledged medic; joy and pride that Tsunade recognized her talents and hard-work enough to consider her as an apprentice; jealousy and disappointment that she was too late and another was chosen instead; and confusion over what personal and political reasons the Hokage had for choosing the mysterious foreigner.

But no matter how she felt about it, she couldn't change her circumstances. With a determined frame of mind the maturing girl straightened up and headed to the library – just because she couldn't be the Hokage's official apprentice didn't mean that she couldn't get stronger.

* * *

Tsunade ignored the large pile of papers as she poured herself another cup of sake. Taking Harry on as an apprentice was the best thing that had happened to her since she was tricked into taking the Hokage seat; not only did she learn new life-saving techniques from the boy's home-world, but he helped Shizune with her paperwork making it even easier to deal with and most importantly he kept Shizune off her back about her habit of drinking and avoiding work since her oldest apprentice was charged with teaching Harry basic healing techniques/knowledge while the slug sannin was "busy doing her Hokage duties". And even without those perks Tsunade could have kissed the green-eyed boy; after learning how much his trunk of gold was worth in a world that used paper money and where the precious metal was rare, Harry had generously donated a considerable amount to Tsunade as the head of the village. On top settling her gambling debts, Tsunade was able to use the money to increase the rate and quality of rebuilding the parts of the village wrecked by the Sound/Sand invasion and also to grease some wheels in to get some of the laws and support she wanted politically speaking (her medic course being the prime example). And without Harry's own money greasing the way, it would have been twice as hard to get the council to accept her taking in some foreigner as her apprentice.

And even after all that, she still had enough money left over to buy a year's worth of sake. She really loved that kid.

"Drinking on the job Tsunade-hime?"

The blonde was too experienced a ninja to show her surprise, but she hated the fact that her old teammate could still sneak up on her.

"What do you want Jiraiya? It must be important if you were forced to leave the hot springs."

The toad sannin just laughed in reply, helping himself to the blonde's alcohol.

"I just received word on the Akatsuki." Jiraiya informed his Hokage. "Though they plan on eventually capturing all the bijuu, for now it isn't their primary objective. For the next two years or so they will focus on amassing monetary wealth."

"That is good," Tsunade commented. "It will give Naruto another year or two to get strong enough to fight them off."

"Actually, it will give Naruto three years to get strong." The white-haired man corrected.

"Three years?" Tsunade asked. "I thought you said two."

"Two years to gather money, yes." Jiraiya agreed. "But even once they go after the bijuu they will go after Naruto last; I have it on good authority that they'll go more or less in order when capturing the jinchuuriki, starting with the vessel of the one-tail and ending with Naruto. By the time they get to Naruto it will be about three years."

Tsunade felt her heart lighten a little bit; an extra year wasn't a lot, but it was something. And anything that would help keep Naruto safe was a positive in her book.

"We'll have to make sure that he trains hard then." Tsunade stated.

"That's why I'm here, actually." Jiraiya said. "I want permission to make Naruto my official apprentice."

Tsunade felt her eyebrow rise in surprise. "You mean he isn't already? You've already taught him the rasengan and he can summon toads; what do you want that you need him to officially be your apprentice?"

Jiraiya looked at his old teammate in the eye to convey how serious he was. "I want to take him on a two and a half year training journey."

The blonde felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Two and a half years?" the Hokage exclaimed. "Why so long? Couldn't you just teach him on the side like you've been doing already?"

Jiraiya shook his head in the negative. "After Orochimaru's attack and the knowledge that another one is coming in three years, now is the time to keep our information network strong. I need to be able to travel to visit my informants, make new ties and hear information first hand. I won't be able to return to Konoha for the next two and a half years, which is why I want to take Naruto with me. This way I can teach him and you'll have a readymade heir for my network; they won't accept anyone they hadn't met in my presence before. I'll even be able to expand my network if half of the rumours about Naruto and certain political figures are true. And if the Akatsuki do come for Naruto before we are back, I'll be able to at least hold them off long enough to return home. Come on Tsunade-hime; you know that this is the best option."

Tsunade sighed; it was true. When Tsunade had accepted the position of Hokage, the village had been reeling from the Oto/Suna invasion. They were forced to put all their ninjas to work; jounin sensei's were separated from their teams to perform higher paying solo missions, border patrols saw an increase in both number of ninjas but also the rank of those ninja – just in case another village decided to take advantage of their short weakness, genin teams worked with a chunnin commander or with no higher ranked ninja at all and there was almost no time off whether for sickness, training, or respite since Konoha needed to perform as many missions as possible to keep their image as the strongest hidden village.

Granted, things weren't as hectic now a full four months after the invasion. Indeed, many ninja were back to their duties/schedules from before the attack. The elite ANBU and high-ranked/well-known jounin however were still kept away from lesser duties like patrols and teaching to complete as many missions as possible. Therefore the Konoha 11 still worked mainly without their jounin sensei's, which was something Tsunade actually liked since she they would all have greatly improved leadership and teamwork skills considering they how she kept rearranging their teams on assignments. It would still be a while before Kakashi was released back to his team, so it wasn't like Naruto would profit from staying in Konoha. And with Naruto taken care of with Jiraiya, and Sakura busy with her medical training the village would profit from Kakashi acting as a full jounin without students for the next two years or so.

The blonde sighed; Jiraiya was right. Naruto needed this training to fight off the Akatsuki. Besides, Naruto was uncommonly gifted in making friends in high places whenever he left Fire Country's borders and if there was ever a time that Konoha needed allies it was now when an enemy capable of using the 9 bijuu waited on the horizon.

"Fine; you win, you old geezer." Tsunade conceded. "Naruto will officially be your apprentice and you have my permission to take him on this training trip."

"But," the Hokage interrupted before Jiraiya could fully celebrate. "You have to be the one to break the news to Harry."

* * *

It was a picturesque scene that night; the air was warm with a mild cool breeze to keep you from sweating, the stars were out in full force without any clouds to obstruct the view. For most of Konoha's citizen's it was a nice if unimportant evening. For Harry and Naruto, it was the last few hours they had together before Naruto's planned departure from Konoha and being separated for two and half years.

"I don't see why the old pervert can't just stay here with you." Harry grumbled out for the billionth time since hearing the news.

The truth was that Harry knew why Naruto was leaving and he even grudgingly agreed with the logic. But it didn't mean he had to like it. Two and a half years separation from the only constant in their lives and just after they had finally reunited – no, not even Naruto was fully happy with the plan despite the opportunity for one on one training with one of the greatest ninjas in the world.

"Aw, c'mon Harry" Naruto cajoled "it won't be that bad. I'll send Gamakichi and Gamatatsu back and forth for messages all the time and we'll both be so super busy the time will pass before we know it."

Harry sighed – he wanted to argue that letters and updates via summons wasn't the same as being able to see and talk to his brother in person, but they'd already been through this argument before. It was Naruto's last night and he was lazing contently on the Fourth's head while stargazing – Harry didn't want to spoil the blond's mood. But before they could fully relax...

"You have everything packed, right?"

Naruto huffed exasperatedly. "Geez Harry, I'm 12 not 3! Of course I packed everything!"

The brunette ignored his brother's sulking expression. "You have the English version of the forbidden scroll? And you burned the original copy you made, right? Plenty of scrolls and ink for letters? The goblin-made daggers? Enough we-"

"Yes, yes, yes! Sheesh! Besides, anything I forget you can send with the toads." Naruto grumbled.

"Sorry, I'm just worried. I mean 2 and a half years is a long time to be more or less on your own." Harry relented, sensing that his brother was reaching the end of his patience with him.

"I know." Naruto conceded. "I don't wanna be away from you that long either, but stop worrying so much – what happens will happen. Just gotta take it one day at a time."

"I guess" Harry agreed, reluctantly settling down beside his brother and hoping that the night lasts forever and the morning never comes.

THE END...(of part 1)

* * *

**A/N: This is the last chapter of this story. Instead of having it over 50 chapters, I've decided to break it up as a trilogy. Part one consisted of everything that happened in the original Naruto timeframe, part two will take place during the 2 and a half year training trip and part three will take place during the shippuden series. My Naruto muse has been finicky this last year, so I don't know when and how often I'll be posting the sequel.**


End file.
